Bucky's puppy
by EmilyAdder
Summary: Bucky is wandering the streets of New York when he comes across an abandoned puppy that he takes in as his own. Set post-TWS, but I'm ignoring the Civil War canon because when I started this I didn't plan for it to last this long
1. Chapter 1

This started off as a short two chapter fic I was planning, but it's already growing pretty fast, so we'll see how it goes

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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Bucky was lost.

That wasn't entirely true, he knew where he was, a street in Brooklyn where he and Steve used to live before the war. He thought about Steve a lot. He still didn't remember everything, but he remembered a lot. He remembered taking care of sickly Steve after his ma died. He remembered bigger Steve rescuing him from Hydra the first time.

He remembered waiting for Steve when they took Bucky again, after he fell.

He didn't know how Steve got big, but he knew somehow they were both Steve.

He knew Steve had cared about him.

He just didn't know if he would still care. He had killed so many, hurt so many. Steve didn't like people who did that.

His familiar thought spiral was interrupted by a small noise nearby, and he reached for his knife instantly.

There was no one nearby, but he heard the sound again, small and high, and determined it was coming from the alley next to him.

While it didn't sound threatening, he had to be sure.

He edged into the alley with his knife raised, and looked around.

At first he saw nothing.

Then he looked down.

Under a small torn apart box was a brown dog. No more than a puppy most likely, and extraordinarily skinny. He judged this was from lack of food.

It made the small noise again and his mind pieced together that the dog was whimpering. Out of fear or hunger, he didn't know, but he slowly knelt to better face the small animal.

"Hello." He said quietly. The small animal looked up at him with wide brown eyes.

"Are you going to hurt me?" He asked it. He didn't remember the proper protocol for interacting with dogs, and he knew it would most likely not understand him, but it felt strangely good to talk to the small animal.

"You are small. Are you afraid?" He asked it, and it seemed to sense his meaning because it whimpered in response.

"I will try not to hurt you small dog. I cannot promise. I have hurt many. But I will try."

The dog crept out of the box and sniffed his real hand curiously. He watched it carefully in case it attacked him, but he let it.

His mind didn't quite know what to do when the small animal started to lick his fingers. It did not hurt, and the small animal was shaking less, so he allowed it to continue.

"Are you all alone too?" He asked it.

It rubbed its head against his hand and he remembered the neighbours had a dog that used to do that, a big golden retriever, and Bucky would run his hand through the fur on its head for a while before the neighbour folks took him back for his walk.

He did the same slowly with the small animal, and it soothed them both.

"You are hungry." He estimated, from the number of ribs visible on the small animal, and his metal hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a small packet of meat he had stolen from a gas station. The small animal looked up quickly at the smell of food, and Bucky placed a small amount of the meat in his real hand before lowering his hand back down.

The food was quickly consumed by the small animal, and he found himself running his hand along its head again.

"You are very affectionate small dog." He noted, and the small animal let out a tiny bark, which sounded to his ears to be a happy one.

Bucky stayed with it, feeding it the last of his food and running his hand along its head until dark.

"Goodbye small dog." He said before standing and walking away.

To his surprise, the small animal was at his side, walking beside him.

"No. Go back to your box small dog. I am not your human." He commanded it before walking again, but it kept following him.

He found a dark grocery store and broke in to resupply his food, and still the small animal followed him.

He stole what little food he could carry and left again, but if he walked a little slower so the small animal could follow more easily he did not do it consciously.

He found a bench and sat down, and after some effort from the small animal to jump up on his own Bucky picked it up gingerly and set it down next to him.

He didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he bolted up from his dream.

In his place in the chair it was Steve. Steve screaming, Steve enduring unbearable agony, and Bucky screamed with him, screamed for them to stop hurting him, but they were all him. They were all Bucky, making Steve scream, and feel this pain.

This was why he did not return to Steve.

He was gently snapped out of his panicked awakening by something small and soft rubbing against his real hand, and he luckily remembered the small animal before instinctively killing whatever was touching him.

"Do you see bad things when you sleep too small dog?" He asked as he relaxed his hand a little and stroked the small animal's head.

The small animal soothed him, and he discovered he did not mind its company. He in fact felt a small degree of joy that it had not left during the night.

He followed his day's routine to perfection, as he always did. He rationed his stolen food, now accounting for the small animal as well, and ate his portion for the morning along with the small animal, who ate much faster than he did.

He found a quiet place and built up his strength until he could hear the bustle of noon street activity, at which time he distributed the small animal's portion of food and ate his own.

He dedicated the remainder of the day to locating things from his memory, today it was the shop he faintly remembered Steve's ma working at when they were kids, a used clothing place that old ladies were always dropping donations to.

The place was still there. Many of the places he remembered weren't, but this one was. It looked newer, the sign was blue now instead of green, but it was the same store.

He went in, and it was much the same as his memory, and he stood for a moment to take it in. It smelled the same, it looked the same, the edge of the bin he ran his fingers over felt the same.

He saw the staff looking at the small animal that followed him, but determined they were no threat to it or him and proceeded to ignore them.

He needed new clothing anyway. The long sleeved hooded garment he wore to conceal his arm was beginning to decay, and he had to position his fingers carefully in his pocket so as not to let the metal be visible through the hole in it.

A small female human approached him. "Excuse me mister?"

He saw an older human watching her from a short ways away, and was on his guard. "Yes?"

"Can I please pet your puppy?" She asked with a smile, and he noticed gaps in it as though she had been in a fight and had her teeth punched out.

He paused a moment before nodding, and she knelt to run her hand over the small animal's head.

The small animal seemed to enjoy the affection and he returned to looking for a new hooded garment.

"What's his name?" The small human asked him.

He had not named it, nor did he know it needed a name until this moment.

"Steve." He said after a moment.

"Like Captain America? He's so brave! Mommy says I'm gonna marry a man just like him some day!" The small human babbled, and he did not know the protocol for verbal response in this situation so simply nodded.

"Come on honey, time to go. Say thank you to the nice man for letting you pet his dog." The small human's keeper said as she came over to reign in the child.

"Thank you mister! Bye Steve!" The small human waved, and the small animal made a noise of contentment as they left.

He used what little funds he had left to buy the hooded garment and left, with the small animal still at his heels.

The remainder of the night was finding a new place to stay until morning. He never stayed in the same place twice.

Today he found a small shelter in a park, and hid inside.

As he sat back and watched the small animal he remembered playing with a dog back when he was a kid, a bigger dog but still littler than him. He threw a ball and the dog ran after it in the little room they were in.

He picked up an acorn that had fallen into the park shelter and rolled it at the small animal.

The small animal pounced on the acorn and slid it between its paws before it nudged it with its nose and sent it sliding back to Bucky.

He slid the acorn to a different part of the room and the small animal followed it, pouncing on it once more and playing with it before returning it to Bucky's hand.

This was how he spent the night. He slid the acorn across the floor and watched the small animal paw at it as he contemplated the name he had told the small human.

"Steve?" He asked softly, and the small animal looked at him.

"That is your name small dog. Steve." He informed the small animal.

It barked and slid the acorn back at him.

He slid it back as he thought about Steve and slowly went to sleep.

This went on for one month and three days. The small animal would soothe him from a nightmare, he would exercise, find a new place he remembered, and devote the rest of his night to simply thinking.

The small animal became less small now that it ate regularly, though it was still very small, and it travelled with him everywhere, even helping him carry stolen food in its mouth.

He was surprised to be awoken one night by it barking, before he had had the chance to experience another bad dream.

There was a tall muscular figure in the dark, and he pulled his knife, but stopped when he heard the voice.

"Buck is it really you?"


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter is so late, but there were a few kinks in the chapter that I just needed to work out before publishing and it took me forever to figure out how to fix them

Chapter 3 is nearly done, so hopefully that'll go up a bit sooner

We've got Bucky interacting with more people in this chapter, so it's a bit of a change of pace, but hopefully you guys like it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing (if I did then Wanda and Vision and Natasha and Clint wouldn't have to fight each other *cries for days*)

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Bucky lowered his knife slowly and ran his hand over the small animal's head.

He couldn't quite believe the information coming from his ears.

"Steve?"

"Yeah. Yeah it's me Buck." Steve sounded like he might cry, and Bucky set the knife on the ground to put Steve at ease. He didn't want to hurt Steve.

"Where've you been Bucky? Why didn't you come find me?" Steve asked softly as he stepped a little closer, into the narrow area of light.

He chose his words carefully, to make it as clear as possible to Steve why he hadn't looked for him. "I killed people. I hurt them. You don't like people who do that."

He apparently had not been clear enough, because Steve began to cry, though he did not seem to register that fact for himself. "You didn't kill all those people Buck. Hydra did. They messed with your head and used you like a weapon. Hydra gets the blame. Not you."

He watched cautiously as Steve's arm moved, but he simply held out his hand.

"You ready to come home?"

Bucky considered his options. He had a small semblance of normality here with himself and the small animal. He had built a routine. But the word home triggered new memories in his mind, of small Steve being happy. He didn't want Steve to be unhappy.

He slowly reached out and took Steve's hand.

Steve led him to a car, and the small animal followed. The man from the bridge was there driving, and he stopped. This man might be against him.

But Steve reassured him that the man, Sam, was a friend, and could be trusted.

He knelt and picked up the small animal gently and set it next to him in the car. Steve looked like he did not quite understand something, but he said nothing and got in the front seat with Sam.

They drove in silence, and Bucky mapped the route they were taking in his mind, in case of a sudden need for escape.

They arrived at the Avengers facility, and they led Bucky inside the gleaming polished doors. The small animal followed him obediently, and he kept his marginally slowed pace so it could more easily follow him.

They were in a simple room with four chairs, a rolling table with a computer on it, and what appeared to be a reclining bed or chair.

"We called the doctor, she'll be in in a bit." Sam informed him, and he nodded, processing the information and storing it for later.

They were standing in triangular formation, and he could sense both Steve and Sam felt some discomfort.

"You wanna sit down?" Steve asked, and while Bucky had no preference he could register that they both did, and nodded.

They all sat down, and Bucky helped the small animal up into his chair, where it promptly curled up and seemed to go to sleep.

"How much d'you remember?" Steve asked him.

He considered. "A lot, I think. I still get new memories, but there are few gaps in the timeline."

Steve smiled, and he felt a sense of reward for causing the smile. "That's great! Is that why you were in Brooklyn, finding your memory?"

He nodded.

"Good, that's good." He paused. "I have to ask, why do you have a dog?"

"It followed me. I let it." He watched the small animal for a moment. "Its name is Steve."

He heard Steve make a small choking sound and looked up, but Steve did not appear to have further trouble breathing.

"Dogs are good. A lots of veterans get dogs after the war, when they've gone through rough patches. It helps rehabilitate them. This is a good step."

Bucky didn't really understand Sam, but he seemed to approve of the small animal.

"D'you remember, the Sanders had a dog? Big golden retriever, you used to play with it? And I'd always be there with you doing homework on the other side of the room 'cause I was allergic to it?" Steve asked him, and the memory came back.

"Maths homework?"

Steve smiled wider and nodded.

Steve liked it when he remembered things. He would remember this for later.

There was a gentle knock at the door and a woman came in.

"Hey, I'm here for the medical examination." She had a very soft voice.

Steve and Sam stood, and Bucky took this as his cue to stand as well, holding the small animal in his arm as it began to wake.

"Please, have a seat." She said as she gestured to the bed chair, and with a nod from Steve Bucky sat down.

"I'll just take him for you-" she began saying as she reached for the small animal, and his training kicked in.

He set the dog on the bed chair and his metal hand around her throat, watching her face as she struggled weakly.

"Buck!" Steve yelled, and he looked at Steve.

"Put her down!" He seemed nervous, and Bucky slowly let go of the woman, who fell back into the arms of Sam.

"What was that?" Steve asked, and while his volume was still high he was no longer yelling.

"She was going to take Steve." He said simply. He truly had no other reasoning besides that, and didn't feel that any was required.

"Buck, no one is getting rid of... Steve..." Steve seemed to have difficulty calling the small animal Steve. He made a note to investigate why. "You just need to be examined, okay? You can have him back the minute we're done. He doesn't even have to leave your sight. Just... Don't kill people. Okay?"

He had upset Steve. This much was certain.

However Steve was giving him a chance to make up for his failure, and he took it with a nod.

Sam was leading the doctor out of the room, but stayed inside it as he closed the door behind her.

"We good?" Sam asked Steve.

"Yeah I think so. Buck, can I hold him? Steve? Just to set him down in the chair so he's out of the way?"

Steve seemed nervous, so Bucky nodded and Steve picked up the small animal.

"Hey there little Steve. Mind if I set you over here?" Steve talked to the small animal as he carried it to the chair, and it seemed content with Steve's contact, allowing Bucky to relax slightly.

"Look, we're not doctors alright?" Sam addressed him. "We can look you over, but if we see anything we can't fix we're gonna call a doctor. Is that gonna be alright?"

Bucky looked at Steve, who gave him what he estimated was a reassuring smile, and nodded.

They instructed him to remove the clothing on his upper body and he complied silently, setting the garments neatly on the bed.

Steve made the small choking noise again as he looked at the seam between the metal arm and Bucky, and Bucky stored this information also for later use.

"This is a pretty big gash on your side, how'd you get this?" Sam asked as he examined Bucky's other side.

"I killed thirty four men from Hydra. They did not appreciate it much."

They both looked up at him.

"Was that sarcasm Buck?" Steve was surprised.

"I think that was sarcasm." Sam seemed pleased.

"Oh boy, Tony'll love that." Bucky made a note to ask Steve who Tony was.

They cleaned his mostly-healed wound and bandaged it, "just to be safe", and Steve brought the small animal back over.

"Where'd you find this little guy anyway?" He asked as he carried it.

"An alley, next to our apartment. Underneath a box."

"Did he have a collar or anything on him?"

Bucky shook his head.

"He is pretty cute." Steve smiled as he set the small animal down next to Bucky, and it licked his real hand before curling up on top of his clothing and sleeping once more.

"We set up a room for you. It's right next to mine in case you need me, and I got some 1940s stuff to put in it. Make it feel kind of like home for you." Steve seemed proud of his work, and gestured for Bucky to follow.

He slid the short sleeved garment out from under the small animal and put it on, and helped the small animal to the floor so it could follow him.

He stopped walking when he saw the red haired woman from the bridge, in conversation with a shorter brown haired female.

"Buck?" Steve realized he was no longer following and came back. "What's up?"

"She is hostile." He was watching the red haired one. "The red haired woman from the bridge."

"Nah, that's Natasha. She's on our side. It's okay. I trust her."

Bucky was still unsure when the small animal abruptly left his side and padded up to the two women, who looked down, and Bucky tensed.

The smaller female knelt curiously to examine the small animal, and it smelled her hand as Natasha looked up and saw them.

Bucky prepared for a fight, and he could tell from the woman's posture that she was doing the same, but she did not look like she would initiate the battle and so he made no action to push her.

"When were you gonna let me know Bucky was back in town?" She asked Steve with a smile, to Bucky's confusion. She was still tense.

"As soon as I had the chance. For example, now." Steve smiled a little in return.

"And the... Dog?"

She and Steve looked at the smaller female, who was rubbing the small animal's head.

"Bucky found him, near our old Brooklyn apartment." Steve explained.

"Does it have a name?" The smaller female asked him curiously, and he noticed for the first time her thick accent, similar but not identical to his own when he spoke in Russian.

"Steve."

Natasha shot a more genuine seeming grin at Steve at Bucky's name for the small animal, seeming to derive some kind of enjoyment from the name.

Bucky kept one eye warily on Natasha, and the other on the smaller female and the small animal.

"He is filthy." The smaller female noted.

"Yeah, we're gonna get him washed up. Both of 'em." Steve said gently.

"How's he doing?" Natasha looked at Bucky as she directed her question to Steve.

"Good I think. He remembers a lot, from our childhoods. How's Wanda?"

They both looked down at the small female that he assumed was Wanda, who was smiling as she rubbed the small animal.

"Good, I think." Natasha replied. He saw Wanda shoot a dissatisfied look at Natasha, as if she did not appreciate being talked about as though she was not there, but Steve and Natasha either did not see or did not comment.

"We'd best get moving. C'mon Buck." Steve gestured for him to follow, and he did, watching the small animal return to his side loyally.

They went down a long hallway, with many doors that Bucky memorized for their subtle differences, indentations on the handles where people had gripped too tightly, doors which were left slightly ajar or locked tightly.

Steve led him to a door near the end of the hall. "Ta-da!"

Bucky set the small animal down now that it was fully awake and opened the door.

Inside was a bed, a couch, a chair, a table with a computer, a television, and a wall-sized window with a curtain. The patterns on the fabrics reminded him of Brooklyn, back in the day. Of home.

"Well? What d'you think?" Steve smiled.

"It reminds me of home." Bucky noted, and he felt a small amount of joy at the delighted smile on Steve's face.

"I did my best. I even found a blanket that kind of looks like the one you had back in our day."

Bucky walked over and examined the blanket, and it was indeed familiar, though more blue, with a slightly larger pattern.

The small animal had once more gone to sleep.

"I'm glad you're home Buck." Steve sounded like he might cry, despite his smile. Bucky did not want him to cry.

More or less on instinct, he pulled Steve into his arms and held him, and Steve held him back tightly.

He had a flash of emotion, and buried his face in Steve's neck as the feeling of genuine safety overwhelmed him.

Steve was crying. Not loudly, or obviously, but he could feel his shoulder getting wet.

The small part of Bucky that was holding on to his calm observance of the world registered that he was also crying.

He made no attempt to stop it beyond holding Steve closer.

They stayed like that for nearly an hour, before they both pulled away and dried their faces a little.

"You should probably clean up. Grab a shower or whatever." Steve said after a moment, and Bucky nodded. "Mind if I take Steve to get cleaned up too? Wanda's right, he's filthy." Steve smiled, to soften his criticism.

Bucky nodded to this as well, and Steve picked up the small animal gently. Bucky stroked its head for a moment before Steve left with it, and he went to clean off.

He found additional clothing in the storage unit in the room, and put it on before letting himself look in the mirror.

He didn't even realize he had been avoiding it until he forced himself to look up and see himself.

He was a mess.

His hair was shaggy, and while wet hung around his face limply. Dark circles had formed around his eyes without the use of the black powder Hydra had given him before missions. There was a cut on his cheek, along the length of the bone, that was still healing. It looked as though it was going to scar.

"Buck?" He heard Steve in the main room, and went out to him.

"Hey. Feel a bit better now that you're washed up and everything?"

Bucky searched his mind for an adequate response. "I feel like the bee's knees."

Steve grinned. "There we go."

"I do not understand. What do a bee's knees feel like?" Bucky needed clarification.

Steve laughed a little. "I have no sweet clue. It's just something we said back in the day."

Bucky nodded, and knelt to stroke the small animal's head. It looked much happier now that it was clean, and to his surprise underneath the dirt it had small white patches of fur on its belly and paws.

"Hello small dog."

"I thought his name was Steve?" Steve asked him as he sat down.

"It is."

"Why do you call him that then? Small dog?"

Bucky considered. "It sounds right. You call me Bucky, but my name is James."

Steve understood.

"Feel up to meeting Tony and Doctor Banner?"

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Please leave reviews below, and comment any ideas you have for where you think this is going! I already have a bunch of what's coming next planned, and I'm starting to drop teasers already for what's to come, so tell me what you think!

Also, for any of you wondering what kind of dog this is, how it looks and et cetera, I spent a solid half hour looking up dog breeds to find out what dogs matched the picture in my head of what it looked like and how it acted and it was a *drumroll please* Nova Scotia Duck Toller, so just if you want a visual then there you go


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everybody! Thank you so much for all the reviews so far, I really appreciate it

Look forward to some... pain... this chapter (I apologize now)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these gorgeous characters

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Bucky eventually agreed to going to meet these new people, once he was certain he had rubbed the small animal enough, and the three of them went towards what Bucky presumed was a laboratory.

"- might explode." The shorter of the two men in the room finished as they walked in. "Hey Cap. This is Bucky?"

"Yeah. Buck, this is Doctor Bruce Banner. Doctor, this is Bucky."

The Doctor nodded to him, and he nodded back.

"How are you feeling?" The Doctor seemed professional and content, but he was afraid of something, and Bucky didn't entirely think it was him.

"Satisfactory." Bucky said simply.

"Forgetting someone Captain Patriot?" The other man asked, and Bucky watched him closely. He had a much more arrogant demeanour.

"Tony, this is Bucky. Bucky, this is Tony Stark."

Stark. The name clicked in his head, and he remembered.

"Your father was Howard Stark."

"Yep, that's me." Tony nodded.

"I killed him."

The room went quiet, and Bucky was very aware of all three men staring at him.

"I thought they died in an accident." Steve said softly.

"Suspicious circumstances. They found the wreck of the car, and Howard and Maria inside, but no evidence of a crash, drunk driving, or any reason for the car to have been wrecked." Bruce explained to Steve.

Tony just stared at Bucky, and Bucky watched him. He didn't quite look sad, as one might expect. He simply looked numb.

Bucky remembered the protocol for this.

"I'm sorry."

"Why did you do it? What happened?" Steve asked.

"Hydra wanted Howard Stark dead. I stood in the road when he was driving. I did not… I did not remember he knew me. But I could see it on his face. I remember now… He knew me. He swerved to miss a ghost."

Silence was thick. Steve and Bruce watched Bucky and Tony.

The small animal barked and pawed at his leg, and he knelt to stroke its head.

"What is it small dog?"

It jumped into his lap and rubbed against him, and he kept stroking it until it applied pressure to the wound on his side and he let out a small gasp.

"Buck?" Steve sounded concerned.

"Are you hurt?" Doctor Banner asked.

"He was stabbed." Steve explained.

"Slashed." Bucky corrected him. "I killed 34 Hydra agents. They were not pleased." He explained to the Doctor.

"You killed 34 Hydra agents?" Tony asked him, and he nodded.

"They made me kill innocents. I was a gun. I did not want to be Hydra's gun anymore."

Tony slowly knelt down across from him, watching the small animal.

"Who's this?"

"Steve."

Tony looked up at Steve with a hesitant grin, one that seemed to appease Steve and Doctor Banner, but Bucky could see the veneer of arrogance covering something more painful that he didn't quite understand.

"I'm never gonna hear the end of this am I?"

"Nope." Tony replied before looking back down at the small animal. "Hey Steve."

The small animal regarded him curiously, but stayed firmly on Bucky's lap.

"C'mere Steve, I wanna pet you."

"Oh god I'm leaving." The Doctor left. Bucky did not quite understand why, but let him without comment.

The small animal edged forwards, until it could sniff Tony's hand. Satisfied, it rubbed its head against his hand, and Tony stroked its head.

"Why do you have a dog named after America's golden boy?"

"I found it near our old apartment in Brooklyn. It seemed to think I was its human and followed me. A small female human inquired as to its name. I did not know it needed a name, so I named it Steve."

"Small female human?"

Bucky did not understand Tony's question, so he simply nodded.

"Steve are you sure he's completely safe? Not Hydra anymore?"

"I dunno. He remembers me, and a bunch of the past. He didn't try to kill me. He's a bit skittish, but anyone would be skittish after all that he's gone through." Steve explained. Bucky registered the words as the small animal left Tony and returned to him for affection.

"I forgot my notes. Is Tony done making innuendos?" The Doctor had returned.

"Yeah, we're talking about Sergeant Barnes here. He called a kid a small human female." Tony explained worriedly. Bucky did not feel the need to contribute.

"He calls Steve small dog too, I don't think I've heard him actually call it Steve." Steve added.

"There might be a dissociation in his mind. I'm not a psychologist, but I was reading a paper recently that suggested some amnesia patients might recover their memory separately from their current conscious thought in cases where the lost memories contained trauma. The memories would still exist, they just wouldn't quite identify with them." The Doctor suggested.

Bucky nodded. That sounded very similar to what he had experienced.

"You get any of that Buck?" Steve asked him.

"Dissociation. I have the memories, but they are not me. They are mine, from another me." He explained.

"Have you experienced that?" Bruce asked him.

"Yes. I will on occasion find myself feeling a memory, but more often I access them like data on a computer. Emotion as well. It comes in bursts, where my mind is overruled by it, but most often I am aware of it without the inclination to act upon it."

"Fascinating." The doctor seemed to be pleased, but Steve looked worried. Bucky kept rubbing the small animal, which was happily drinking in his affectionate touch.

He concentrated the most on Tony, the man who posed the biggest threat to him.

Tony looked conflicted. Conflict was dangerous.

He decided to make things simpler.

"You are still hurt by what I have done." He addressed Tony, who looked at him.

"You can kill me to avenge your father."

They all began staring at him. He didn't know the protocol for the situation, so he opted to keep talking.

"I am the cause of his death. If killing me will bring you peace, do so-"

"Bucky shut up, please." Steve said harshly.

Bucky felt an overwhelming flash of emotion: fear.

He tried desperately to stay connected to himself, but he was very quickly lost in a spiral. Handlers at Hydra yelling for him to shut up when he began to remember himself. They echoed in his mind. They were taking him to lose his mind. It hurt, he didn't want to. He had to obey or they would hurt him more, but he didn't want to go.

He couldn't see or hear anything going on outside of his mind. Not Steve begging him to calm down, not Doctor Banner paging a medical team, not the small animal barking worriedly and attempting to nudge him back.

All he could feel was the sheer abject terror crashing over him like a hurricane.

He felt hands touch his arms and lashed out in blind rage, sending whoever was touching him flying across the space.

His rage focused him, and he found he was now standing, breathing heavily. As more control came back to him he saw the room around him.

It looked like it had weathered a small explosion. Broken glass was on the floor, and machines were knocked on their sides.

He saw the other people first. Three people who looked like doctors on the ground, bleeding from various places, in varying states of unconsciousness. Doctor Banner and Tony Stark were kneeling next to them, quickly assessing their injuries.

Then he saw Steve.

He looked horrified. He looked at Bucky with huge heartbroken eyes, and the only thing that hurt Bucky more than that was the fear he saw in them. The pure, genuine fear he had instilled in Steve.

"Bucky?" Steve asked slowly, and he heard the fear there too. He felt pain from hearing that fear like his handlers had tortured him for hours.

He had broken Steve's trust.

He ran.

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Thanks so much for the overwhelming positive reviews, please let me know what you think, and how you think it'll go next, I love getting your opinions on the story so far!


	4. Chapter 4

Apologies for the late post. Exams are hell.

Apologies for the feels too, I had no idea how traumatic everyone would find the last chapter. Sorry. Kind of.

Disclaimer: I do not own these people. These gorgeous talented amazing people.

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He heard someone running after him and gave himself over to his training, his calm analysis of the world.

Running took him out of the facility and into the treeline. He didn't stop until he could no longer hear whoever was running after him.

He let go of his training and collapsed back against a tree, sliding down until he was sitting curled up against its base.

He stayed there unmoving until he heard soft footsteps coming his way, softer than those that had been chasing him.

He drew his knife and stood, bracing himself on the tree as the footfalls got closer. He waited for them to get close until he moved in the path of the encroacher, knife ready.

Wanda took a step back, holding the small animal.

He watched her carefully, unsure of whether or not she was an enemy.

The small animal did not seem to think so.

"I found him looking for you, and I thought I might help." She said slowly, setting the small animal down, and it ran to him happily, pawing at his leg like it did when it wanted affection while he was standing.

He slowly knelt to rub it, transferring the knife to his metal hand.

"Why will you never fear me small dog?" He asked it softly. It only nudged its head against his hand.

Wanda knelt across from him. He registered her presence but didn't act upon it until she spoke.

"What happened to send you out here?"

He paused to consider his words. A part of him was surprisingly trusting of her, and it was this part that spoke.

"Steve was angry. He sounded like my handlers. They were going to wipe my memory again, they were going to hurt me. I didn't want them to. I lost myself. When I came back they were dying on the floor. Steve was standing. I did not hurt Steve. But I hurt him the most. He was scared of me. I failed. I had to leave."

"You failed?" She sounded like she needed clarification.

"Steve was all I had left. If I could not return for him and make him trust me I was lost." He paused. "I am lost."

He saw her close her eyes, and moved back slightly when he saw a red mist form in her hands, but it faded when she opened her eyes again.

"Steve does not think you have failed."

He was confused, and she could see it on his face.

"I have... Powers. Among many things, I can read minds. Steve does not think you have failed. When I looked, all I could see was a desire to protect you."

He thought that over as he rubbed the small animal.

Steve wanted to protect him. Through his fear and heartbreak he wanted to protect Bucky.

"Do you know why he was afraid?" He asked softly, noting a certain sense of surprise at how vulnerable his voice sounded when it came out.

"He thought he had hurt you. He thought he was responsible." There was a silence in which only the small animal's movement against the forest floor was audible. "They are looking for you." She added gently. "I can stop them if you would like."

"How?"

"I can also give people visions and dreams. I can tell them that for now you do not want to be found."

He nodded and the red mist formed around her hands as she concentrated. The small animal left his hand to sniff at the mist, and when she opened her eyes and noticed she formed a little more for the small animal as she turned to Bucky.

"They are going to leave you here for now. I do not know how long it will last, but for now they will wait."

"You're welcome." Bucky shook his head, no, that wasn't right. He should know this. "Thank you?" He tried again.

She nodded, and they both watched the small animal, who was now pawing at the mist. She smiled and swirled her fingers around, raising them a little so the small animal jumped up on its hind legs to paw at the mist, and she laughed.

He sat back against the tree and watched her play with the small animal curiously. She seemed much like a smaller human in the way she acted, but she carried a weight around her, one that took him a while to decipher.

"Who was it?" He finally asked, and she looked up at him, mist vanishing.

"Who?"

"The one who died."

She stared at him for a moment before slowly relaxing from her sudden stiffness. "My twin brother Pietro. He... He died in the battle of our home with Ultron. He was the only family I had left, after my parents died. We were just children."

He recognized her posture, though from where he didn't know. "You need physical comfort."

They watched each other before coming to a silent agreement. She came and sat next to him and he put his arm around her shoulders gently as she leaned her head on him and brought her knees up to her chest.

The small animal climbed onto his lap and she rubbed its head gently from his side.

They stayed there until the sun began to set and she looked up at him.

"They said your mind was unstable." She said gently. He nodded a little. "May I look? I have not... I did not want to intrude. I may be able to help you."

He considered her for a moment, and slowly nodded.

She sat up a little and put a hand on his head, closing her eyes to focus.

He could feel... Something. He couldn't identify what it was, he only knew something was different.

It didn't hurt, so he let her continue, watching her curiously.

She started shaking like the small animal had when he found it. The shaking quickly grew from there to electric shock, and he nudged her worriedly. "Wanda?"

When she looked like she might be in actual pain from whatever was happening to her Bucky pushed her hand off of his face, noticing vaguely that her fingers had dug into his face painfully.

She hit the ground, unconscious, and the small animal ran to her face worriedly and licked her nose, nudging her and making small whimpering noises. Bucky moved so he was in front of her quickly and shook her. "Wanda?"

She shook limply in his arms. He pressed his hand over her heart to look for a pulse, and a wave of relief crashed over him when he found a weak one.

The small animal ran around his knees worriedly as he scooped her into his arms and stood.

When it barked he looked down. "She will be well small dog." He promised.

He ran once more, but now towards the people he had been fleeing. He would make her safe.

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As always, please leave me reviews telling me what you love, what you hate, et cetera

I've got chapter 5 nearly finished too so I might post it early to make up for the late post here, let me know if that's something you guys want


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everybody! Thank you so so much for the continued support, I appreciate all of the reviews you guys are sending me

I've got the next chapter started, and from here on out I'm willing to take some requests, if you guys want fluff chapters or anything in between my continued approximation of a plot, so let me know what you all want to see!

Disclaimer: as always, I own none of these souls.

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They ran out of the woods back to the Avengers base, and nearly ran into the man from earlier, Sam.

"Bucky, wh- Wanda? What happened?" Sam took notice of the situation too slowly for his liking, although he at least looked suitably alarmed.

"Where is medical?" He demanded.

"Down the hall, come on." Sam ran down the hall, and Bucky ran after him, cradling the young woman against his chest.

The moment Sam turned towards the door Bucky ran in and laid Wanda down on a bed, keeping a protective hand on her shoulder.

"Where are medical people?" He demanded Sam.

"I- I'll get them-" Sam ran away, and Bucky turned to Wanda, moving his hand to her neck to keep track of her pulse.

Much too long later people in white clothing ran in and swarmed around her. He kept his arm on her shoulder, guarding her even as Steve ran in, brought by Sam.

"Sir, if you could please let go?" One of the people asked, and his hand was nearly around her throat when Steve grabbed the metal hand in midair, stopping Bucky from strangling her.

"Buck, it's okay. Calm down, they'll help her, just move your hand okay?" Steve pleaded with him. "Please just let them do their jobs, just move out of the way so they can help her."

Bucky slowly released his death grip on Steve's hand and removed his hand from Wanda's shoulder. Steve pulled him back to the wall as Natasha came in.

"Buck what happened?" Steve asked. Natasha came to Steve's side, and Bucky backed away a step, too close to his accusers to be comfortable.

"She looked in my mind."

"So you hurt her?" Natasha was not pleased.

"My mind hurt her without my willing it." He snapped at her. "She looked, and she nearly died. Make her alright again."

"Slow down Buck, she's gonna be okay, just tell us what happened. How did she find you?"

"The small animal found her, took her to me."

"Then what?"

Bucky thought. "She was happy because the small animal was friendly with her, but sad because her brother is dead. She needed physical comfort... A..." He lost the word.

"Hug?" Steve guessed, and Bucky nodded slowly.

He and Natasha shared a look that Bucky did not understand.

"So you hugged, then what?"

"She rubbed the small dog's head until the sun set. She asked to look in my mind. She said she could help. I wanted to be fixed for you so I said yes." He stopped when Steve made a small choking noise, but continued when it did not persist. "She began shaking, so I made her let go, and she went unconscious."

"She was holding your face?" Natasha guessed, gesturing to the nail marks on the side of his face, and Bucky nodded.

"And then you came back?" Steve moved on.

"To make sure she became well. She is alone. I will make sure she is made well." Bucky stated simply.

"Steve, a word?" Natasha grabbed Steve's collar and pulled him away. Bucky remembered two protocols for this: he could listen in on the conversation or let them speak in peace.

He went with the latter, walking back to Wanda's side. Medical people had put needles in her, and only the fact that he knew she trusted the Avengers enough to have joined them kept him from tearing out the needles and taking her far away.

The small animal pawed at his leg and he blinked and looked down. He didn't even remember it following him there, he was so concentrated on Wanda's safety. He slowly knelt and picked it up and set it next to Wanda, quelling the small protest from one of the medics with a glare.

It curled up next to her hand, watching for movement, and Bucky rubbed the small animal gently.

The medics quieted a little, and he found he could hear Steve and Natasha's conversation without deliberately trying.

"- bottom line, I don't think it'll be good for either of them. I know you're happy to have your Bucky back, but- " Natasha started.

"Nat, look at him." He felt their gazes on him and gripped Wanda's hand as he closed his eyes, concentrating on holding her hand. He remembered doing this before.

Little Steve had been sick. He knew by now that this had happened a lot when Steve was small. He was at Steve's side, holding his hand. "It's gonna be okay Steve. You'll be up again in no time, back to makin me look down alleys for your punk ass gettin in fights." He said the words affectionately, and little Steve understood, smiling a bit before a cough made him spasm.

He shook his head slightly and the memory faded a little, tuning him back into the conversation behind him.

"- with me, and now he's doing it with her. He'd stay by my bedside and make damn sure I got better."

He recognized later that Natasha had begun speaking, but in the moment he did not hear.

"You were sick in the winter."

They both looked up at him properly.

"What?"

"It was the winter. The apartment was cold as hell, and you had a fever. At night I curled up next to you to keep warm. Skipped a day or two o' work to take care of you." Bucky recounted.

"Yeah, that happened a lot." Steve said slowly.

"I stood by your side until you were better." He had to actively recall the memory now to get the words straight. "Back to makin me look down alleys for your punk ass gettin in fights."

He didn't see the confused look Natasha and Steve shared, concentrating his attention back on Wanda.

"I do not know if she is a punk, or if she gets in fights, but I will not leave her side until she is well again. I will take care of her, like I took care of you." He promised Steve. "I will watch over her."

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As always, leave me reviews, tell me what you liked, didn't like, what you wanna see next, and et cetera

Love you all, thanks for your continued support


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everyone! Thanks again for all your support, I really appreciate it

I've been wandering around a bit with writing style, but for here and the next chapter I tried to get back to Chapter 1 as much as possible, let me know how I'm doing (along with other assorted feelings you all have)

Disclaimer: I own nothing except a collection of the MCU films, of which I am very proud

* * *

They let him stay with her, though a part Bucky suspected this was simply due to their lack of ability to really remove him.

A medic brought him a chair and he sat by Wanda's side, never letting go of her hand while medics came in and out to check on her.

He had actually fallen asleep when she woke up the first time. She looked around hazily, saw Bucky and the small animal by her side, and drifted back out.

The second time she woke up Bucky was awake, feeding the small animal rations from his pocket.

She groaned softly and he looked over immediately. His real hand moved on instinct to check her forehead for temperature and neck for pulse, both of which were at normal healthy levels.

"What happened?" She asked softly.

"You began shaking, and when I removed your hand from my head you went unconscious. I brought you here. You have been unconscious for 28 hours."

She moved to sit up and he held her down gently. He knew she would recover faster if she rested.

"Do you know why you were shaking?"

She thought for a moment. "Your mind… I could only see chaos. Fear and pain and loss. I could not escape it." She squeezed his hand gently, and he remembered this was a signal of comfort. "How do you manage?"

He thought about it carefully, to find the words. When he couldn't, he did the best he could to approximate it. "I had a routine. I followed it. There was little room for my mind to indulge in emotion. Here… They want me to feel it. Steve smiles when I remember things. He does not understand the bad comes too."

The small animal interrupted the dark mood by climbing up to Wanda's face and licking her cheek, which made her giggle slightly.

Bucky relaxed back into his chair a little as he watched her and the small animal enjoy each other's company. They seemed fond of one another, and he noticed a small degree of joy within him at that thought.

This was how he was supposed to feel. Wanda was correct, there was a pit of chaos within him. He could feel it. He saw it in his nightmares, felt it. But he stayed detached from it when he woke, he kept his distance. He did not walk to the edge of the pit and look inside.

His routine helped. Having steps he took each and every day without fail built order around him, discipline that he had lost when he came back to himself, when he left Hydra.

Then the small animal came, and while it brought him a single step closer to the pit, it was only a small step, and he was able to fit the small animal into his routine almost seamlessly.

Then Steve came. Bucky wanted to return to Steve, Steve was all Bucky had. He had an instinct to protect him that he could feel right to his core. Yet there was a part of him that almost regretted going with him.

Steve had dragged him to the edge of the pit. He did not have a routine any longer, beyond watching and reacting to the events around him. If not for the small animal nudging rations out of his pocket, he would not have remembered to eat. He had too much to process, too much new information. External and internal.

He simply did not know how to handle it. He had no memory of how to cope with this state of mind. So far, he could not recollect any coping methods for anything beyond bodily injury.

At least injuries were simple. Something bleeds, or breaks, it is bandaged, after a moment it heals, and it is not felt again.

"Bucky?" Wanda snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up at her.

"Yes?"

"Can I feed him? Steve?"

"Steve is not here." Bucky said confusedly, soon after realizing she meant the small animal. He silently got out another small ration so she could feed the small animal.

Wanda sat up a little and began toying with the small animal, giving it pieces of the ration in some kind of game he did not understand.

"I thought his name was Steve?" She asked calmly, not seeming to be faulting him for the mistake.

"It is. I do not call it Steve. That is simply its name." He tried to explain.

"What do you mean?" She looked at him curiously.

"My name is James. Steve does not call me James. He does not call me Buchanan either, though that is the origin of my name. He calls me Bucky. He shortens it on occasion to Buck. It is the same with the small animal. Steve is like James."

"What do you call him then?" She rubbed the small animal's head affectionately.

"Small animal, or small dog. Like Bucky, or Buck."

"Well he is a very small animal." She smiled a little. He slowly nodded in agreement with her on that point. The small animal was very small.

The door opened and Bucky turned to look, his muscles tensing for a moment before he recognized Steve and relaxed, looking back to Wanda.

"Hey Wanda. When did you wake up?" Steve asked calmly, in a voice Bucky recognized as his military caring voice, one Steve had used when he got injured during the war.

"A few minutes ago." She kept rubbing the small animal's head contentedly.

"How do you feel?" He reached Bucky's side.

"A little tired. Only enough for a day or two out of training, maybe three at most." She was hiding a smile, and Bucky realized she wasn't tired at all. She was lying to Steve, he remembered doing that to his own mother to avoid school on days he wanted to spend with Steve.

Steve wasn't buying it, and Bucky silently gestured to her to feign a cough.

She did so and Steve bought it immediately. "Of course Wanda. We're not gonna push until you're ready. Just get well soon, okay?"

She was having trouble keeping her face straight but nodded, and Steve rubbed her shoulder briefly much in the way he and Wanda would rub the small animal's head.

"How're you doing Buck?" He turned to Bucky.

"I am... Good." He was, overall, doing very well now that Wanda was stable, though the usual tightness he felt in his stomach had increased a little. He couldn't remember the word for that feeling, but he knew there was one.

"Okay. You hungry? I don't think I've seen you eat since you got here." Steve seemed concerned for him, and he remembered this scene happening in reverse as a child. Steve was sick, and wouldn't eat anything Bucky put in front of him.

That was the feeling in his stomach. Hunger. He knew it had a word.

"I think I am hungry." He nodded a little.

"I can go grab you something. Cafeteria is about as varied as it was in the military, but it at least tastes a little better. Anything you feel like?"

Bucky felt as though he was being put on the spot, and tried to concentrate on finding out if there had been a food he liked, but all he could remember of food at the moment was the meat thing he had been stealing from stores lately and the bland portions that Hydra fed him.

He shook his head, and Steve gave him what he presumed to be a reassuring smile. "I remember some of what you liked. I'll see what they've got."

"Thank you." Bucky nodded to him, and Steve nodded back and left.

Wanda smiled at him curiously.

"You knew I was lying about being tired?"

"You are not a very good liar. I could see your smile." Bucky scolded her gently.

"Thank you for helping." She smiled.

"Why do you not want to train?" He asked curiously.

"Natasha is very skilled at fighting. So is your Captain. I am less skilled. They push very hard, sometimes I would like to take a break."

Bucky had heard that, in his own mind. During his training with Hydra. They hurt him. Tortured him. Turned him into a weapon.

He stood, and he saw Wanda lean away from him slightly.

"I will take you away. They will not hurt you."

Understanding flashed across her face and she sat up and took his hand.

"They are not Hydra. They do not hurt me. I am alright Bucky. They do not hurt me, I promise. They are not Hydra. They have not hurt me." She squeezed his hand gently and put her other hand on his chest, over his heart.

The contact confused him enough to make him pause and listen to her words, and he felt himself begin to calm. She stared into his eyes, watching the intensity and panic fade from them.

A small part of him marvelled at how she had managed to pull him back from the edge of the pit. The rest of him slowly squeezed her hand in return and looked to the small animal for comfort, letting go of her and taking it in his arms. He buried his face in it's fur, breathing in the warm comfort the small animal provided.

It licked his face contentedly, happy its human was no longer upset.

"The small animal is very fond of you." Wanda sat back with a gentle smile, and he nodded slightly, sitting back and letting the small animal rest on his lap. It rested there, letting him rub its head gently before bouncing back to Wanda when she created some of her strange red mist for it to play with.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks so much to everybody for the continued support

As of now I'm going to state that this is officially not in compliance with movie canon, it wasn't supposed to last up the release of Civil War, now that it has I'm putting in that disclaimer just so you all know how this fits in

I have seen the movie (OH MY GOD) so some of the character interactions might change a little, but the main ones will stay the same, and I'll do the best I can to keep everything the same

Disclaimer: if I owned these people, I would be much less emotionally wrecked inside

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Steve came back with a food for him. "Hey Bucky." His face shifted when he saw Bucky. "Are you okay?"

"I was upset. I am not any longer. The small animal and Wanda calmed me."

Steve smiled in relief. "Good, I'm glad." He offered Bucky the plate of food, and Bucky looked at it curiously. He did not recognize- no, he did. He had eaten this before. Salad, and... Ham. Hamburger.

"Thank you Steve."

"Anything I can do, just tell me. I'm here for you." Steve smiled gently and gripped his shoulder for a moment.

He considered speaking, and opted for it. "Do not push for my memory."

Steve's face grew concerned and he sat down near Bucky. Wanda quietly stole a carrot from his salad.

"Why?"

"I remember much. When you push for my memory, I... It hurts. My memories are not good. I feel. I do not like to feel. It is too much."

"Is that what happened in the lab?" Steve looked like he might understand, and Bucky nodded.

"I heard Hydra in your voice. The memory came back. They were going to hurt me."

Steve reached for his metal hand and Bucky pulled it away, replacing it with his real one when Steve began to look confused. Steve squeezed his hand gently.

"You're safe here. No one'll hurt you, I promise. And... I'll stop pushing. At least I'll try. I just want you to be okay Bucky."

Bucky relaxed in relief that Steve understood. "Thank you."

He saw Wanda quietly reaching in to steal another carrot. She was attempting to be discreet, and he was amused by her lack of prowess at it. His metal hand shot up and grabbed her wrist, surprising everyone else there, and Steve sat up a little in concern.

"You are not a good thief." He noted, and he surprised himself the most of them all with the slight amusement that had actually reached his voice. He did not quite know where this amusement was coming from, but it felt familiar, playful banter.

He had done it with Steve. That was why it was familiar. He and Steve had banter.

"I am still learning." She did not seem threatened by him, and he was in some measure relieved. He did not often make contact with the arm, only when he meant to threaten. That was most likely why Steve had sat up, in case he needed to defend Wanda.

He let go to put Steve at ease. "I will teach you more, until you can steal from anyone." He promised her. Why was he smiling? He did not often smile.

"Bucky you can't teach Wanda to be a thief." Steve sighed.

"But you are a good thief, when you go on secretive missions. It is a valuable skill. Natasha said so." Wanda challenged Steve with a smile.

"She needs to learn it from someone, and I am very good at it." Bucky added. He felt relaxed, calm in the familiarity of jousting verbally with Steve. They did it often, before.

"This is a battle I'm gonna lose anyway isn't it?" Steve sighed, and Wanda nodded happily.

"Fine. Go ahead. But put back everything you steal." Steve was hiding a smile, and Bucky could see that he was pleased Bucky was calm.

The three of them felt relaxed. This was strange to him, but familiar too. It felt like the days when he and Steve lived together. Balanced, peaceful. There was no military propriety here, just friends. People.

And the small animal, which was now pawing at Steve's arm for attention from Wanda's bedside.

"Hey there little guy." Steve smiled and rubbed its head. It barked happily and leaned into Steve's touch.

He remembered that he had food to eat, and slowly began to. It tasted strange to him, he hadn't eaten food like this in a very long time.

It did however feel reassuring to be a step closer to his normal schedule. From the clock on the wall, he could see it was near the time he normally ate his midday rations.

Steve rubbed the small animal's head calmly while he ate, and Wanda laid back.

"Is there a place here for training?" He asked Steve once he had finished.

Steve looked concerned, and he didn't understand why.

"Buck, you don't need to train. You can take some time off, just relax. Get better."

Bucky shook his head. "Training is better. It gives focus, calms me."

"Are you sure?" Steve asked, and he really didn't understand why this was so confusing to him.

"Yes."

"It does help." Wanda added, and they both looked at her in surprise. "I... I looked at your mind, just the surface. It is less scary there. And it does help him." She looked from Bucky to Steve.

"Okay. There are a few training areas, I'll check if any of them are free. Are you gonna be alright leaving Wanda?"

Wanda nodded a little to reassure him, and Bucky nodded to Steve. "The small animal can guard her. It is very loyal." He picked up the small animal and looked into its eyes. It barked happily and pawed at his face a little.

"Stay with Wanda small dog, and keep her safe." He instructed it before setting it down by Wanda's side, and it seemed to understand because it sat there stoically.

He and Steve stood.

"Have fun!" Wanda called after him, and he waved a little to her as he followed Steve out. He didn't know where the motion came from, most likely his memory of times past, but it felt natural.

Steve led him down a brightly lit hallway towards a door, and Bucky sensed the danger the moment Steve walked in.

His arm darted up to snatch the- arrow?

When he realized that the arrow was just too high to have hit Steve's head he looked up, and saw a man lowering a bow, perched on a metal rafter.

"Natasha told me you found Bucky. Nice reflexes." The archer nodded to him.

"Clint if you could maybe not try to kill me whenever I walk into the gym?" Steve sighed, like this had happened many times before.

"Relax Cap, I'm never gonna hit you." The man jumped down a rope on to the floor. "It's just practice."

Bucky didn't know whether or not he needed to kill the archer. Neither he nor Steve seemed surprised or upset by the shot, but it posed potential danger to Steve.

"Clint Barton." The man introduced himself as he approached.

"Bucky Barnes." He said slowly. He would gauge the interaction between Clint and Steve, and judge then.

"Got any other war buddies we'll be digging out of the ice?" Clint joked with Steve.

"I think he's it. The rest of them died pretty naturally." Steve confirmed.

"Well we're glad to have you here." Clint nodded to him, and he slowly nodded back. "Just so you don't go ballistic or anything and try to kill me, I'm never gonna hurt Steve. We do this every time, it's just to practice my aim. I do it to everyone. You're the only one who's ever caught one though." Clint grinned slightly as he looked at the arrow still in Bucky's metal hand, and Bucky handed it back to him. He lowered his guard now, Clint was not a threat. He simply had an odd sense of humour. He was relieved that he had received confirmation though, he did not want to alienate Steve's allies by suspecting threats where there were none.

"Thank you."

"No problem. You ever want to practice those reflexes, let me know."

He didn't know how he would contact Clint, but he presumed someone would teach him eventually and he nodded.

"You guys training?"

"Yeah, Buck said he wanted to."

"Gym's all yours then. I was nearly done anyway." Clint nodded to them both and headed out.

Bucky walked to the center of the room and looked back at Steve, who looked uncertain about something.

"D'you want to train alone, or do you want me here?"

"I haven't fought anyone since I took out the Hydra base. I might be... Rusty. I would not mind help getting back into shape." Bucky reasoned, and Steve walked up to join him.

"Alright Buck. Just... Let me know if your head starts getting a bit rocky."

Bucky nodded. He felt a small pang of guilt that Steve was still cautious of him, but it stayed at the back of his mind where his feelings belonged, and he did not acknowledge it.

Bucky watched calmly as Steve readied himself for fighting, fists up and at the ready. He'd seen this before, this exact pose...

The day before he shipped out.

He smiled a little internally before focusing, standing stock still and analyzing Steve's weak points.

Without a word of warning Bucky punched, aiming for Steve's kidney with his real arm. Steve blocked it quickly.

He aimed again, at Steve's shoulder, and got closer before being blocked again.

He slowly sped up, randomly picking vulnerable areas that Steve left open, and they started moving around, circling each other.

When he paused Steve threw a punch at him, and he caught it in his metal hand. He very quickly released it, and Steve punched again.

Once they started to get sweaty Bucky threw a kick into the mix, and now they were everywhere, moving around the room with each other, throwing and blocking blows.

He got Steve down on the ground and held him there, both of them panting slowly.

He was supposed to kill the man under him. Those were his orders when he trained. If his opponent was not good enough to defeat him, he killed them.

No, he didn't have orders anymore, this was Steve, he was not supposed to kill Steve, he had to protect-

"Bucky?" Steve asked him, snapping him back to the moment

Bucky stood and offered Steve his hand to help him up, and Steve smiled slightly and took it.

"I thought you said you were rusty?" Bucky inferred from his tone that this was banter again.

"And here I thought you were letting me win."

"Nah. I figured I finally stood a chance of beating you in a fair fight." Steve wiped his forehead off.

"Not a chance. Even after you got big, I was a better fighter than you." Bucky remembered this from the war. He and Steve had sparred a bit. Steve was bigger, but Bucky always found a way to win.

"Feel like a round two? You're tired now." Steve grinned slightly.

"You wish." Bucky felt his mouth twitch up in a smile briefly before he threw another punch at Steve.

Steve blocked it and threw one back, which Bucky blocked in return, and they started up again.

Bucky won twice more, and at the end they were both leaning on the wall panting.

"I let you win." Steve said with a smile.

"Sure." Bucky knew he was lying.

"Hey, you've got the upper hand." He gestured to Bucky's arm.

He knew what that was, that was a pun, and a bad one at that.

"Really Steve? Upper hand?" He flexed the fingers on the hand to demonstrate his point.

"Yeah that wasn't my best. Hey, at least Stark isn't here, he gives everyone weird nicknames. Capsicle, Legolas."

He only just remembered Stark. He might have felt guilty, but he'd had too much happen to him for him to care much. Still, he should at least ask.

"How is he?"

"Tony?" Steve checked, and Bucky nodded. "He's okay. I mean, as okay as he can be. Might not always see eye to eye with the guy, but he's strong. He's been through a lot. I can respect that. Just please don't offer for him to kill you again?"

Bucky nodded a little. "That was perhaps not the best course of action. Is he going to follow up on it?"

"I doubt it. I talked to him once everything had calmed down a bit, he said that that was all the closure he needed. I don't know if that was true, but I don't think he's got you in his sights." Steve put his hand on Bucky's shoulder, and Bucky forced himself not to tense. This was normal contact, and he needed to get used to it again.

"What about you? Now that everything's calmed down a bit, how are you feeling?"

Bucky weighed his options, honesty over comfort, and landed somewhere in between.

"I'm improving. Slowly. It will take time, but… I missed you. I don't think I should be anywhere else but here."

Steve pulled him in for a hug, and he hugged back. He had missed Steve. He just didn't want to hurt him.

Now Steve was here, he was holding him. It felt good.

No.

It felt right.

* * *

As always, be sure to favourite, and leave a review, because I love hearing what all you guys have to say about this

Next chapter might or might not introduce Vision into the mix, let me know if that's something you guys want or if you want some down time with just Bucky and the small animal, I'm willing to get flexible with my writing


	8. Chapter 8

As per usual, I want to thank everyone for your reviews, I really appreciate hearing from you guys

Special thanks to Evaline101 for the idea for this chapter, I was stuck trying to figure out where to take it and I loved your idea about having Tony get some quality time with the small animal, I hope you like what I did with it

Disclaimer: I don't own them. I don't. I'm so sorry.

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Wanda was let out of the medical area later that day, on the condition she would rest, a condition which she didn't seem to be arguing with.

With Wanda safe, and Steve caught up to Bucky's approximate mental state, Bucky decided he was going to take some time. He had a room to sleep in now, with a bed, and it had a computer, so he could go about his daily routine within in without needing to leave.

He told Steve his plan, and he arranged for Bucky's daily meal portions to be brought regularly for the few days he was taking to settle and adapt to his environment.

Steve also tried to make sleeping arrangements for the small animal, in the form of a small mat which Bucky's presumed was a dog bed, but the small animal ignored in completely and slept next to him every night, either curled into his side or resting within reach of his hand.

He was used to its presence now, and when he woke up the first night from ripping Steve apart the small animal was there, pawing at his face gently.

He sighed and ran his hand over its head gently, watching it as it attempted to play some kind of game with his face.

It was so small, innocent. It had been hurt by the world, but had caused no hurt, and somehow, miraculously, he had made it better.

It was a reminder that he might not be bad, the weapon Hydra made him to be. He had improved the life of the small animal.

Steve and Wanda visited him. Steve more so than Wanda, and Bucky suspected she had to sneak out of her room to see him since she was supposed to be resting.

When Steve visited, he sat down and listened to Bucky talking. He asked Steve questions sometimes, when a memory didn't have context or wasn't clear on a certain point. Through this, he filled in many of the smaller gaps in his memory from the times that Steve was littler. Steve also explained how he had gotten big, a memory which Bucky could tell he had but had never quite been able to reach. He was surprised to find himself quite fascinated by the science involved, and when Steve left that day he looked online for further record of what had happened, rubbing the small animal's head to calm it a little from its usual state of playfulness. Sometimes Steve came in the morning too, and on those days Bucky would convince Steve to train with him. They pushed the furnishings out of the way and Bucky set the small animal on the desk so that it wouldn't jump down and get underfoot. Bucky kept beating Steve, but his victories were narrow, and Steve was starting to pick up on the smaller intricacies of his style.

When Wanda visited on the other hand, Bucky let her talk. She asked him a few questions, but they were about life since he had left Hydra, and she let him redirect the conversation to her own life when he wanted to. She also interacted with the small animal much more, where Steve simply acknowledged it when he entered and occasionally rubbed its head. She even brought it a small ball, and on one of her visits they said nothing to each other beyond hello and goodbye. Bucky had woken up from a particularly bad nightmare very recently, and he assumed she used her powers to determine he was in no mood for talk. She simply threw the ball to the small animal, who went back and forth between them both to attempt to return the ball, but Bucky would just nudge it back over to her.

There were some days that the small animal would try to run out the door when someone arrived, but Bucky was always close enough to put a hand on its head to keep it in place.

Until eight days into his self-imposed exile to his rooms.

Steve opened the door, and the small animal bounded out the door without a second thought.

Bucky was on his feet immediately, but Steve put a hand on his shoulder to stop him for a moment, most likely seeing the distress in his eyes.

"Relax Buck. We'll find the little guy, he can't have gone far. He'll be okay." Steve assured him, and he took a slow breath.

"Did you see which way it went?"

"Down the hall. C'mon." Steve led him down the hall, and they went slowly, looking at every door to see if the small animal had nudged it open.

They split up when the hall diverged in two directions, and Bucky ignored the looks the various personnel of the base gave him.

He had been at it for some time when he heard running behind him, and looked back to see Steve.

"I think I found him."

"You think? Where?" Bucky quickly jogged up to join him, and the jogged down the hall.

"Stark's lab." They arrived at the door of Stark's lab, and Bucky could hear something small moving around inside, and Stark cursing.

Bucky opened the door.

The small animal had found its way up on the table where Stark was most likely working before it arrived, and was pawing at an empty glass tube, amidst a sea of broken glass that Stark was trying to brush away from around the small animal.

"Dang it you little bugger, come on." Stark tried to pick up the small animal, but it turned and started licking his hand, barking when Stark pulled it away quickly.

Bucky came over and picked it up, burrowing his face into the fur on its back for a moment, and the small animal went with him happily, licking his cheek.

"Oh sure, it lets you pick it up Cyborg, of course, but me it starts attacking." Stark sighed.

"Was all this him?" Steve came over and gestured to the mess on the table.

"Most of it yeah. I don't do dogs Captain Perfect. It got up here and just kind of went for it, I didn't really know how to get it to stop." Stark nodded with a sigh.

Bucky raised the small animal to eye level. "Do not do that again small dog. You will be reprimanded if you do." The small animal barked in response to him, and Bucky took it as understanding of his words and held it in his arms.

"He's really attached to that little guy huh?" Stark asked Steve, who nodded.

"It's something I didn't break, I fixed." Bucky explained. He could feel Steve and Stark watching him, and kept his eyes on the small animal. He wasn't comfortable yet with people who watched him, though he could remember a time when he was.

"Just keep Steve out of my lab. I don't need him running around all over these tables swallowing something and becoming super Steve." Stark said, and it actually clicked in Bucky's mind that he was referring to the small animal before he said anything.

"I will." Bucky nodded to Stark, and he was given a nod of dismissal as Stark started cleaning up the lab.

Bucky took the small animal back to his room and threw it the ball Wanda had left as he and Steve sat down.

"Thank you for finding it." He said to Steve.

"No problem." Steve said back. The small animal returned the ball to him, and Bucky offered it to Steve, who tossed it across the room gently, and the small animal bounded after it.

"That's a fast dog. Have you thought about training it up at all?" Steve looked to him.

Bucky hadn't thought about it, but he began to now. It was a very loyal small animal, it obeyed him without much effort on his part, and Steve was right, it was fast, and agile as well.

"Perhaps. It is still very small." Bucky shrugged a little.

"Yeah. I dunno, I think it might do him some good. You too, you said training helps you out. You could take a break from yourself and buff this little guy up a bit." The small animal brought Steve back the ball and he rubbed its head briefly before giving the ball another toss.

Bucky watched the small animal catch the ball in the air and run back to him happily, and he rubbed its head before tossing the ball again.

"I'll see." Bucky shrugged. "Maybe."

* * *

I've got a few ideas brewing for what's coming next, including some time with Wanda, Natasha, and Steve, so let me know what all you guys'd like to see

Also feel free to tell me if there's anything you wish I'd do differently, whether it's more focus on the small animal, or on Bucky's internal monologue, or on his growing relationships with the people at the compound, or even just tell me you love it, I won't argue with that


	9. Chapter 9

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry for the late post, I've been trying to apply for jobs, and it's a mess

Thanks goes to overlordred for prompting this chapter, I had it kind of planned to happen eventually but you gave me the pieces I needed to make it fit nicely in here

I apologise now for my Russian, I don't speak Russian at all so it's probably awful, but if any of you know Russian and have corrections to offer or are willing to help me with any Russian in the future, please let me know

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After that, Steve eventually managed to get Bucky to agree to leaving his rooms a little. In the short time he had been there, they had become his safe haven, a harbour he was hesitant to leave.

It started with simply walking down the hall to Steve's room, then a little further to Wanda's room at the other end of the hall. Steve got him to train in the gym, provided he woke early enough to get there before anyone else did.

He hadn't tried training the small animal yet, but he was considering it. Maybe Steve was right, and it would help him to focus, but there was something about the childlike playfulness of the small animal that he didn't want to disturb yet.

It accompanied him wherever he went though, either walking alongside him or resting in his arms. When he trained he laid it down and instructed it to remain where it was on the sidelines, and for the most part it obeyed him, though often it was very tired and simply slept through practice.

"You're getting better. Didn't think that was possible." Steve said to him as he wiped his brow on his shirt, having just wrapped up their training for the day.

"There is always room to improve. You're getting better as well." Bucky replied.

Steve tossed him a water bottle and he caught it and unscrewed it, taking a long drink.

"Feel up to grabbing some breakfast with me? I think there's pancakes today." Steve offered. Bucky considered it. On the one hand, he did need to expand his boundaries, and it had been a few days since he had done something big and new. On the other, did he feel up to going somewhere with the potential of interacting with people he didn't know?

"Okay." He felt like he'd made the right decision, Steve was smiling.

He picked up the bouncing small animal and they walked to a smaller lounge area near the cafeteria, which was delightfully empty, and Bucky realized Steve was most likely well aware of his strong dislike of too many people watching him. He nodded to Steve gratefully as they walked in, and he sat down on one of the bar stools.

"I'll grab us some, any idea of how many pancakes you want?" Steve asked.

"An average amount." Bucky shrugged and set the small animal down, and it ran to paw at Steve's leg.

Steve smiled and knelt down to rub its head. "Don't worry, I'll grab you some food too." It barked happily and Steve shooed it back to Bucky, who picked it up and set it on the table.

Steve left, and returned a moment later with two stacks of pancakes and a dish of the portions the small animal was designated to eat. Bucky set the small animal back on the floor as Steve set the dish down and it pounced on the food, making Steve smile a little. He sat down nearby in one of the more comfortable chairs and they both dug in.

"Did I used to be skilled with women?" He asked Steve after a minute. He remembered many women coming in and out of his life, all near his age.

Steve nodded. "Yeah, you were great with them. Class-A flirt. They flocked to you."

"What did I do?" Bucky didn't quite get how it all worked.

"You were attractive, and hey, you were a smooth talker. Always knew what to say to dames." Steve shrugged. Bucky thought about it, and he did remember some of what he had said to the women he remembered. It was still a little fragmented, but overall he figured he had a sense of what these women liked about his words.

Steve finished eating and set his plate aside. The small animal walked up to him and tried jumping up next to him in his chair, and both Bucky and Steve were amused by the attempts.

"Come here little guy." Steve picked up the small animal and set it in his lap. The small animal attempted to attack Steve's hands, pouncing where they were resting, and Steve pulled them away with a slight smile and rubbed its head. "You're a good boy aren't you?"

Bucky watched them, and he felt a certain fondness in him at the sight.

He finished eating as Natasha walked in, and he considered the conversation he had just finished, and what he knew about her.

"Hey boys." She nodded to them both as she walked to the bar, behind which most of the drinks were kept.

"Hey." Steve nodded to her.

(" _Hey beautiful_.") "Эй красавица." Bucky said to her casually. Clint walked in as he did so, and both he and Natasha gave him very odd looks. Natasha's looked confused while Clint's looked almost surprised and amused. Steve started to look worried, but both Clint and Natasha looked away and went back to what they were doing, sitting down near Steve and getting a drink, respectively. From the amused look on Clint's face he assumed he had done it right, so he kept going, leaning on the table to watch Natasha.

(" _Are you doing anything later_?") "Вы делаете что-нибудь позже?" He asked as smoothly as he could manage. Natasha looked up from the bottle she was pulling out of refrigeration to give him another confused look as she poured two drinks, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Clint silencing Steve, and he seemed to be enjoying watching this.

(" _Are you trying to flirt with me_?") "Вы пытаетесь меня соблазнить?" She seemed almost disbelieving, like she had been caught off guard. The soldier inside of him kept this in mind in the event that he needed to distract anyone, but the Bucky of the past felt much more present, and he was simply enjoying this.

(" _That depends on whether or not it's working_.") "Это зависит от того, является ли оно работает." He felt an almost playful smile on his face as he spoke, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Steve looking extremely confused and Clint grinning in surprise.

(" _Not in a million years_.") "Не через миллион лет." She was cautiously casual with her reply, and he could sense that on some level he was a threat, but for now she was letting that go to see where Bucky was taking this.

(" _That your first attempt since the 40s_?") "Это ваша первая попытка с сороковых годов?" She took a sip of her drink.

(" _Well_ -") "ну-" He was cut off by the small animal jumping away from Steve and pawing at his leg, playing a little with the hem of his pants. "What is it small dog?" He knelt down to rub its head and Natasha walked to Clint and handed him his drink.

"I'm gonna go whip up the new recruits."

"Alright, I'll be there in a minute." Clint nodded, straight faced, and Natasha left.

Bucky picked up the small animal and sat down, and Clint's face slowly broke into a smile, then laughter.

"Oh man, that was great. You've got some moves." He grinned at Bucky.

"Someone please explain what just happened?" Steve looked very confused, and a little concerned. Bucky realized he most likely did not understand Russian.

"I think I just flirted with her." He summed up. This did not remove the look of confusion from Steve's face, it simply heightened it.

"You what?" He seemed almost shocked, and a little impressed.

"That was hard-core flirting. Good too." Clint smiled, and translated the short conversation for Steve.

"Wow. Where'd that come from?" Steve was smiling a bit as he looked back to Bucky, but still seemed a bit shocked.

"I wanted to practice. To see if my memories were correct, about how to flirt with women. I don't think I was very effective, she said no." Bucky shrugged.

"Natasha won't hook up with you. It's her policy never to mix work and pleasure, you have as much chance as Captain Virgin here does." Clint nodded to Steve.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Trust me Buck, those are the exact same moves you pulled on dames in the 40s. You've still got it, she's just a hard nut to crack. Are you actually interested in her?"

Bucky considered. She was an interesting figure, both a threat and possible ally, but if Steve meant in the same way as the other girls he had flirted with the answer was a definite no.

He shook his head, and looked down as the small animal barked and nudged his hand, and he returned to rubbing its head. "Do you think I should be interested in her small dog?"

It pawed at his hand and nudged its head against it as he kept rubbing it gently. He took this as a no.

"I should head out. Nat'll kill me if I'm late for training the new kids on the block." Clint finished his drink and stood. "Nice going Bucky. See you Cap."

They both nodded goodbye to him, and he left.

That night Bucky and the small animal visited Wanda. He felt bad about not having visited earlier in the day, but when Steve had brought him back to his room he had showered and read, and the book took him longer than expected to complete.

He knocked on the door twice and it opened on its own. Wanda was brushing her hair, sitting cross legged on the center of her bed. He came in and sat down at the end of the bed, and helped the small animal up after it attempted to leap up. It promptly crossed to her lap and curled up.

"How was your day?" She asked him with her usual kind smile.

"Eventful." He sighed softly. "I expanded a little more, to... Some room near the cafeteria, Steve took me there to eat pancakes. And I flirted, or at least I tried to."

She looked up. "Who were you flirting with?"

"Natasha Romanoff." He was beginning to understand the shocked stares now. Apparently this was some kind of accomplishment.

"You flirted with her and she did not kill you?" She slowly faded from shocked to almost amused.

He nodded. "She did not even attempt it."

"Tell me everything." She set her brush down and leaned on her knees watching him.

He went through the details of what had happened, pausing for a moment whenever she yawned tiredly.

"That is impressive. I would not have thought you to be a flirt such as this." She smiled, picking up her brush again and continuing to brush her hair.

"I was pretty good before everything happened I think. Steve said I was very good with women." Bucky shrugged a little. "I was not very successful with her."

"Natasha does not do these things. They are for missions only I think. When she does not have to stay-" Wanda cut herself off with a long yawn.

"You need rest." Bucky noted, and she nodded a little. He stood and took the small animal from her lap as she set the brush aside and laid back and pulled the blanket over herself, and Bucky found himself assisting her with it on instinct. She looked a little surprised but didn't stop him, and he remembered where he had learned this behaviour. He had done it a lot with little Steve, when he was sick.

"Good night Wanda." He said quietly, and she smiled a little.

"Good night Bucky. Good night small dog." She rubbed the small animal's head for a moment before pulling her arm back under the blanket and closing her eyes.

Bucky went back to his room and did the same, laying there silently with the small animal resting next to him until he eventually went to sleep himself.

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Thank you so much for reading, be sure to review and follow because (except for this time) I post new chapters every Wednesday, and I love seeing what you guys think and what you want me to do going forwards


	10. Chapter 10

I swear the late posting isn't gonna become a habit, I'm so sorry

Props goes to DraejonSoul for the basics of this chapter, I hope you like it

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It very quickly became part of his routine to visit Wanda at night. They would share stories of their days, or of their pasts on slower days, and Bucky would tuck her in, a phrase he only remembered when she asked him to the next night he visited her. It was helping to calm his nightmares as well, they were less intense, and less frequent.

He was surprised to see Natasha in Wanda's room a week or so after this had become part of his routine, standing near Wanda's cross legged form on the bed.

"Bucky, come in." Wanda smiled. He slowly walked in and sat on the end of the bed with her, small animal walking behind him and sitting on the floor patiently until Bucky picked it up and rubbed its head for a moment before handing it to Wanda.

"Have you been good to Bucky and kept him safe?" She asked the small animal as she held it up to her face, and laughed a little when it licked her nose.

Bucky kept his eyes on Natasha. She wasn't looking at him, but he could feel her watching him. He shifted a little and focused back on Wanda, as apparently did Natasha.

"You're back in training tomorrow morning." She informed Wanda.

Wanda looked to Bucky for a moment before looking back to Natasha. "Can Bucky train with us too?"

Both Bucky and Natasha looked up at her.

"What?" Bucky was not at his most eloquent.

"You train in the mornings, and you've been better lately. Maybe you could join us." She smiled gently.

Natasha and Bucky looked at each other. Natasha looked as uncertain as Bucky felt. He had only trained with Steve, he wasn't sure if he could keep control with someone else. Wanda was right though, he had been getting better. He was having fewer nightmares, and they were less vivid, and when he fought Steve the voice of Hydra inside of him was much quieter than it had been the first time they trained together. Maybe it was time for him to move forwards.

Still, Romanoff looked uneasy. "I leave the decision to Natasha." He offered, to put both her and himself at ease a little.

She was about to speak when the small animal barked. "What is it small dog?" Bucky took the small animal from Wanda's lap and rubbed its head, and it burrowed into his hand contentedly. It apparently hadn't been receiving enough attention to suit it.

Natasha started again. "You can train with us. Tomorrow morning, 0500 hours." Her voice was cautiously professional, and he made note to ask her what her quarrel with him was.

Wanda yawned, and Bucky set the small animal down and stood to tuck her in.

"Good night Bucky. Good night small animal." She closed her eyes as she laid down to rest.

"Good night Wanda." He pulled the blanket around her.

A stream of red mist floated to her light and both Natasha and Bucky walked out, with the small animal walking out behind them. Natasha shut the door gently and Bucky turned to go back to his room.

"Barnes." Natasha called his attention for a moment. "I want a word."

He watched her for a minute, then knelt down to the small animal. "Go on to my room. I'll be there in a moment." He nudged it along gently, and the small animal ran back down the hall to his room. He stood back up to face Natasha.

"I don't trust you." She said simply.

"I know." He replied. He could see it on her face whenever she looked at him.

"You know why?"

"You think I'm Hydra." He guessed. It seemed the most reasonable explanation, it was the reason he didn't trust himself.

"Not quite. I think you're Barnes, but I know brainwashing. You can't just shake it, and you're going to end up hurting someone if you aren't careful." She sounded harsh to his ears, but his brain knew what she was saying, and he understood her concern.

"I wait days before making new advancements in my life. I'm moving as slow as my surroundings allow. If you think I'm moving too quickly, talk to Steve." He informed her simply.

She watched him for a moment, and he stood still, letting her scan his body language almost imperceptibly.

"What was with your flirting a week ago?" She shifted, and her posture read as more casual now.

"I remembered flirting. I wanted to try it." He said calmly. He wasn't quite sure what she was asking him, and there was a small part of him repeating "just tell me what you want" over and over in his head.

"So nothing personal, just some target practice?" There it was. He shook his head, and she relaxed a little. "What about Wanda?"

He was lost again. Natasha didn't seem to ask him any of the questions she actually meant. "What about her?"

"You seem fond of her. Tucking her in at night, trusting her to hold your dog. What exactly do you see her as?" She seemed almost accusatory, and he was reminded of a few older men asking him "What are your intentions towards my daughter?".

He didn't quite know how to say it, to make her understand. He was still unsure, but he did his best. "I see her as Steve, before he got big. She's small, and she trusts me, just as Steve did. I want to take care of her. I think she feels the same, now that she has lost her brother. She takes care of me as well."

He sighed in relief when understanding appeared in her eyes. "Good. I'll see you at 0500."

They nodded to each other, and Bucky went back to his room.

He woke up at 4 the next morning, after a surprisingly peaceful night of sleep, and got up slowly without waking the small animal. He went to his table by the window and moved the portable computer aside to sit on it and look outside. He did this sometimes, when he didn't want to sit in his chair, or just wanted to see the outside. It was calming, quiet. He appreciated how simple it all looked.

A knock on the door woke the small animal, and it began barking.

"Relax small dog. It is most likely just Natasha and Wanda." He rubbed its head as he passed it on the way to the door, and it jumped down to follow him.

He was both right and wrong, Clint was also joining them.

"Morning Barnes." Natasha nodded to him.

"Good morning Natasha, Clint, Wanda." He nodded to them all, and Wanda smiled tiredly at him.

"Good morning Bucky. Good morning small dog." She knelt to rub the small animal's head, and it ran in circles happily under her hand.

She stood back up soon after and Clint led the way down to the gym.

"Did you have another nightmare last night?" Wanda and Bucky made up the tail of their small party, with the small animal padding along in front of them.

"No, my sleep was quiet." He shook his head.

She smiled a little. "Good. That hopefully means some progress."

Clint opened the door, and Bucky noticed that it looked just slightly altered from yesterday.

"We decided to set up an obstacle course. I'm shooting from up top, Natasha's the boss battle at the end. Run through it one at a time, when we're not running we're doing push-ups or sit-ups or whatever ups we please. The one of you to get the box at the end wins, but neither of you are getting it because we're amazing." Clint and Natasha high fived. "Anyone have any questions?" Clint said as he walked to the ladder to his rafters. Bucky looked over the course, which seemed more geared for Wanda's skill level.

He shook his head, and so did Wanda.

"Perfect. Playboy, you're up first." Natasha walked to the end of the course and picked up a timer, and Clint climbed up the rafters and loaded up his bow. Bucky assumed she meant him, and stood at the end of the course.

One eye on the arrows, one eye on his feet, his arms would work on their own.

"Three! Two!" Wanda quickly picked up the small animal in his periphery and moved back to an unoccupied corner. "One! Go!" Natasha started the timer and Bucky went.

Clint was a much faster shot than he had thought, and he quickly figured out that if he was going to dodge or block every arrow he needed to get through this as quickly as possible.

He managed to get to the end without any of them hitting him, but he was so focused on Clint that he barely noticed Natasha's foot in time to duck.

Her fighting style was much lighter than his, and she was doing everything to make sure he never got a hold on her. She was good at it too, and he considered the possibility that he might lose this fight.

Then he managed to catch her in the back of the leg and knock her down, and quickly got on top of her to keep his victory.

"Surrender?" He caught his breath a little.

"Never." She smirked a little bit, and before she did whatever it was she was going to do he quickly grabbed her hair.

"I just snapped your neck. You're dead." He let go and stood, and she rolled her eyes a bit at him.

He remembered winking at a few girls who had done that, so he tried it, and she sounded almost like she chuckled briefly.

He was approaching the box when he snagged an invisible tripwire and sent the box flying, straight up into Clint's waiting arms. A timer underneath it counted down from three seconds and he sighed as it hit zero.

"Boom! You're dead." Clint grinned. "Told you you couldn't get it."

"Give me a few tries and I'll nail it eventually. I'm calling a rematch in a week's time." Bucky called up to him in reply. He wasn't especially frustrated that he hadn't gotten it, but he liked the challenge of it and wouldn't mind doing this again sometime.

"Wanda, you're up!" Natasha called her, and she abandoned her place on the floor with the small animal to go to the beginning of the course.

"Wish me luck." She smiled at him.

"I'll wish you skill. You'll need that more to pass this test." He replied as he passed her, and he messed up her hair a bit. She laughed a little and fixed it before gearing herself up to start.

Bucky got down next to the small animal and let it hop on his back before he started doing push-ups, and he switched to using just the metal arm when Wanda's run began.

He could tell they were going easy on her now that he had seen what they did for him, but she was still doing extremely well. She stumbled a little halfway across, and Clint slowed his rate of fire to let her recover, but she pulled herself back together and managed to get to the end without getting shot.

She and Natasha had much more similar fighting styles, and Wanda actually managed to hold her own against a less powerful move set from Natasha. Still, Natasha got her to the point of surrendering fairly quickly.

They both brushed themselves off and Clint came down from his rafters. Bucky stopped his push-ups to let the small animal off before standing up. He came over to them and tossed Wanda a bottle of water.

"You did well."

"So did you. You got farther than me anyway." She shrugged and took a sip of water.

"You both did pretty well." Clint commented as he came over. "You weren't exercising though. You were playing with the puppy."

On cue, the small animal pawed at Wanda's leg, and she looked down at it with a smile before looking back up at Clint. "I was exercising control of my powers. See?" Her red mist appeared around her hand and the small animal jumped up to play with it.

"And if that exercise of your powers just happens to let you play with a dog?" Natasha was only slightly amused.

Wanda just shrugged. "If that is what I must do, I will make that sacrifice."

Bucky rolled his eyes and knelt down to rub the small animal's head. "Such a great sacrifice. It's so hard for you to bear."

They went to get breakfast after that, then parted ways, and Bucky went back to her room again that night.

She was already laying back, looking at the ceiling, and he sat next to her, helping the small animal up so it could lick her face and curl up in his lap.

"Did you do anything after training?" She asked him with a slight yawn, and he shook his head.

"I read again. I don't know how many times I need to thank Steve for finding me books to read, to help me catch up." He rubbed the small animal's head lazily. "Did you do anything?"

She shrugged. "Just more training. I'm trying to expand my range, so I can read minds farther away."

He nodded a little. He wasn't sure he understood how her telepathy worked, but he still had a few books to read before he was getting to the science textbooks.

"How is my mind? Better?" He asked hopefully. Things had been moving better, he had been growing slowly, but it still felt dark inside his head. He and Wanda had agreed she wouldn't look too deeply into his mind since the day they had met, but he knew she watched his head from afar to make sure he was at least stable.

"I don't know. It doesn't feel different to me. Maybe the change is just under the surface, out of view." Bucky knew she was just trying to comfort him and sighed softly.

Wanda yawned tiredly and he stood and pulled the blanket over her. The small animal nudged its nose into her face gently and she smiled a little.

"Good night Wanda."

"Good night Bucky. Good night small dog." She closed her eyes and the small animal barked good night to her as Bucky picked it up.

He went into his own room and laid down, closing his eyes as the small animal fell asleep near his hand. He slowly drifted unconscious.

And then the screams began.

* * *

Sorry about that

In case you couldn't tell from the mega cliffhanger, I've got a plan for the next chapter or two, but let me know if there's anything you would or wouldn't like to see and I'll make note of it

Thanks as always to everyone who leaves me reviews, I love hearing your take on all of this, keep em coming


	11. Chapter 11

I have a surprise for you all this week:

I'm actually posting on time! Who'da thunk it?

Thanks so much for all the love last chapter, and special shoutout to my home skillet Triumphant Valkyrie this chapter

* * *

They weren't Steve's screams, as he normally heard when he closed his eyes, but shriller, higher.

He was drowning in darkness, but he could feel the need to protect whoever was screaming. He fought through the darkness, and felt a glimmer of satisfaction when his hands began colliding with flesh and bone. That satisfaction was quickly ripped away as he was pinned down, and he couldn't regain control no matter how hard he tried. He struggled and yelled as he was forced back into the familiar chair and locked in place.

The darkness was ripped off of his eyes and he adjusted to the light to see he wasn't in the chair at all, he was still standing, locked in a glass cage now. In his place in the chair, still screaming in agony he knew only too well, was a female figure with a bag over her head. Her clothing was nondescript, and he didn't recognize her at first, until he saw the red mist trapped in concentrated balls under her hands.

No.

No, this wasn't how it was supposed to go, this wasn't how it went, Steve was the one who was tortured in his dreams, Steve was strong, Steve fought, Steve only screamed when he could absolutely no longer bear it. The sister in front of him had been writhing in her restraints for hours in screaming pain. Her wrists and ankles were bleeding from her attempts to escape, and there were bruises covering her exposed skin from the beatings she must have gotten in an attempt to quiet her.

He smashed his hands against his cage and it began cracking. He smashed against it again, but the glass began repairing itself. He screamed in frustration and kept trying to break his cage, only to writhe with electric shock and collapse to the ground.

He looked up to see two backs in front of him, one male and one female. The male was non-descript, short dark blond hair, but he knew who it was in association with the familiar red haired female.

He renewed his attempts to break through his cage as they approached the chair. The screams morphed from those of pain to more fearful ones, and the bag was ripped off of her head. Bucky could see the panic in her eyes, and he realized quickly that she couldn't see him as she looked everywhere for some escape. She was quickly beaten into a cowering mess by the duo in front of him, and Bucky screamed for them to stop, to torture him, to let her go, anything if they would just stop.

He almost missed the small piece of glass that fell out of his cage in the center of where his fists were landing. The glass stopped repairing itself.

Bucky lashed out with all of his strength to break himself out.

He bolted up the moment he felt something touching him and it flew into the wall near his door with a crunch the moment he lashed out at it. He caught his breath slowly, and it wasn't until he heard the whimpers of pain that he remembered he was in his room with the -

No.

He ran to the wall and knelt down quickly to see the small animal curled up in pain on the ground, one of its legs splayed out at an unnatural angle. The sounds coming from the small animal's body drove into him like knives.

He barely even registered the fact that he was screaming for Steve as he slowly reached to the small animal. He couldn't bring himself to touch it. He had done this, he had hurt it, he was the reason it was crying out weakly in pain.

Steve ran to his side. "Bucky what happened?!"

"The small animal, I, it, dream, I thought, I-" Bucky didn't know how to form any kind of coherent speech, his voice and breath were both shaking. Steve saw the small animal and picked it up gently, and Bucky cringed as it cried out in pain.

"Bucky, it's gonna be okay, we'll get it taken care of." Steve tried to assure him.

"No, I-"

Steve cut him off in his distress. "Bucky, come with me, don't worry, he's gonna be fine. Come on." He helped Bucky up, and together they ran to medical, and Steve pounded an alarm inside the door. Medical personnel ran in quickly and Steve set the small animal down.

People were talking, but Bucky couldn't make out any of their words, he was too concentrated on his own panic spiral. It was only broken by light running footsteps running in behind him.

"What happened?" Wanda asked worriedly as she reached his side. Bucky had forgotten his nightmare entirely, but the moment he heard her voice it all came back, and he turned and wrapped her in his arms tightly, burying his face in her hair in an attempt to surround himself with her to reassure himself she was indeed alright.

She hugged him back tightly. "Bucky, what's wrong? What happened?"

He slowly managed to get himself calmed down enough to speak, though he expected she had loaned a bit of her powers towards that cause. "The- the small animal. Nightmare. I lashed out. I didn't mean to." He realized frustratedly water was coming out of his eyes, and Wanda held him tighter.

"It will be okay. It isn't your fault, you know that. You cannot control your fear just out of a nightmare, it is understandable. Do not blame yourself Bucky." She said gently, and he could feel her extending her powers to calm him. His breathing started evening out.

That ended the minute Natasha walked in the door.

He pulled Wanda behind him quickly, and no one in the room even had time to register what was happening before Bucky's hand had her neck pinned to a wall.

She tried to pry his hand off and he squeezed harder, watching her start to lose oxygen with a calm determination to make her pay for hurting Wanda.

Steve wrapped his arms around Bucky's from behind and managed to tear him off of Natasha, letting her fall to the ground gasping. The small part of him that wasn't still screaming derived some dark pleasure from her weakened state.

"Bucky what the hell?!" Steve quickly got in between him and Natasha.

"She hurt Wanda." He explained simply, glaring at her.

"What?" Steve looked confused.

"She and Clint tortured her." He growled frustratedly. He wished sometimes Steve could be telepathic as well, and this was one such occasion.

"Bucky, I'm alright." Wanda put a gentle hand on his arm, and he paused and turned his head to look at her. "Calm down? Please? I'm not hurt. It was just a nightmare."

He looked back at Natasha, who was standing up behind Steve, and he could feel his aggression rising until Wanda forced him to turn his head to look back at her.

"Please Bucky, I need you to be calm. I need you Bucky. Just please calm down." He could see the worry in her eyes. Wanda needed him to calm down.

He turned and hugged her close, and she wrapped her arms around him quickly. He heard Steve and Natasha leave and squeezed Wanda a little.

"It will be alright. Say it with me. Things will be okay." She said gently.

"Things will be okay." He repeated slowly. His breathing managed to calm down, and Wanda led him to a chair. The doctors were scanning the small animal and saying words he didn't entirely understand.

Wanda sat curled up in his lap, and he rubbed her back gently like he did with the small animal, taking some comfort in the familiar range of motion.

Wanda watched him as he watched the small animal. He could feel himself crashing from the heat of the moment, but he forced his eyes to stay open and firmly affixed to the small animal.

"Bucky, you're tired." Wanda said gently.

"I will not sleep." He insisted. He did not want to dream, and see her in pain, or hurt her because of his dreams.

"I can give you a dreamless sleep, if you let me. For this one night. You need to rest. I promise you, they will do nothing to the small animal that you would not allow."

He looked down at her, and she put a small hand on the side of his face.

He could only ever trust her or Steve with this.

He sighed softly and closed his eyes, and he could feel her begin working in his mind.

"Good night Bucky." She said gently, and he started drifting off.

"Good night Wanda." He mumbled. With that, he was out.

* * *

I'm so sorry.

Please leave a review, because I love seeing what you guys have to say, and don't forget to be awesome


	12. Chapter 12

Hey everybody, how's it going? Ready to have your hearts torn open again? I'm (mostly) joking, this is a less feels oriented chapter

Shoutout to Qweb for being the only reviewer worried about Natasha nearly dying, but I'll assure everyone that she's doing okay, and she isn't holding much of a grudge, she kinda saw this coming

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything, I just love them like they were my children

* * *

He didn't open his eyes right away. He concentrated on keeping his breath calm and even, like he was still sleeping. When he was satisfied with that, he focused on his surroundings, what he could feel and hear and smell.

There was soft breathing coming from the light familiar form in his lap. This was most likely a sleeping Wanda.

There were steady beeps and a clean chemical scent that meant he was still in medical.

There was a metal chair underneath him, confirming he had not been moved from where he and Wanda had sat down.

There was another scent, which smelled familiar but just slightly off due to the looming medical smell, paired with very faint short breathing that didn't sound human.

He opened his eyes to see the small animal lying on the bed in front of him, awake but clearly drowsy. Its front left leg was wrapped in plaster, and its body was wrapped in bandages.

It barked weakly and tried to extend its uninjured paw towards him, but it was too tired to move.

"I'm sorry small dog. I didn't... I never meant to hurt you. You were good, and I helped you. You helped me too. Now I've hurt you more... I'm sorry." He said to it quietly. It simply kept pawing at him limply, and he sighed. Sometimes he wondered if maybe it couldn't understand him.

Wanda made a stirring noise from her place in his lap and he looked down.

She looked up at him and blinked a little. "Morning." He nodded to her in reply, and she shifted and stretched a little. "Did you sleep well?"

He remembered nothing since when she had helped him go to sleep, so he assumed he had slept well. "I think so. What happened after I went to sleep?"

She sat up a little and reach to the small animal to rub its head, which it accepted drowsily. "The doctors scanned him, and they sedated him so they could keep him from making himself worse. He has a broken leg and two broken ribs, but they said it is all clean so he will heal fast."

He nodded a little. "Steve?"

"Steve came back after you fell asleep and arranged for you to stay here with small dog. He asked me about your nightmare, but I'm not allowed to look that far into your mind." He could tell she was trying to get permission, but he wasn't letting her.

"I won't have you hurt too. Don't look. You know what happened last time you tried, I won't let that happen again. At any rate, you shouldn't see this nightmare anyway." He pulled her into his arms a little and she sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, still rubbing the small animal's head.

"I was in it, wasn't I?" She asked softly, and he slowly nodded. "Natasha too? And Clint?" There was a pause where he said nothing. "You tried to kill her Bucky. You said she and Clint hurt me. Nothing happened in training to trigger that, it had to have been your nightmare."

Sometimes he forgot she was as old as she was, and could figure these things out on her own.

"You were in my place in the chair. You were already screaming when it started. I was in a cage, I couldn't break it. I tried Wanda. I tried to get you out, but I couldn't break the cage. Then they arrived, and they started beating you, and I started breaking the cage. When I broke it I think I woke up. That's when..." He looked at the small animal and she understood.

"I'm okay Bucky. I promise, I'm not hurt. They've never tortured me. Clint stuck an arrow in my head once, but I was trying to make him relive his worst fear and I was working for a genocidal robot so I deserved it that time. He apologized later anyway." He nodded a little, she had told him about her role in the events surrounding Ultron before.

The small animal whined a little and twitched its paw at him, and Wanda looked up at him. "I think he wants you."

He shook his head. "I hurt it. I can't touch it now. I might hurt it again." He hoped he had made her understand.

He hadn't.

She took his hand gently, and he hesitantly let her. "Bucky, you won't. I know you. You love him more than anything. More than me, more than Steve, more than Steve loves Brooklyn. That is a very high bar to pass." She was trying to joke to lighten the mood a little, and he appreciated her effort, but no emotion got anywhere near showing itself on his face.

She guided his hand to the small animal, and his fingers twitched away a little when the small animal licked them, but as she took her hand away from his he reluctantly left his hand there, and after a moment let his fingers reached forwards and rubbed behind the small animal's ear. The small animal leaned into his hand and he relaxed a little.

"You never do fear me, do you small dog? Even after I hurt you, you still want me with you."

The small animal barked a little and nudged his hand, and he kept rubbing the small animal gently.

The door opened behind him and he kept his hand over the small animal protectively until he heard Steve's voice.

"Hey Bucky." Steve put a very light hand on his shoulder and Bucky did his best to relax. "How're you holding up?"

He considered, and lacked the words to really describe it. A part of him was still furious, both at Natasha and Clint and at himself, another was terrified for Wanda and the small animal, and yet another was simply tired and just wanted a break from things going wrong.

"Things will be okay." He said simply. It would pacify Steve for now, until he found a way to tell him what was going on in his head.

Steve leaned down a little to watch the small animal, and it pawed tiredly at his nose. "How's he holding up? Okay?"

Bucky let Wanda answer that, she had been awake with the small animal longer. "He is alright. The breaks are clean, the doctor said it will only be five weeks to recover. He is young and strong."

Steve nodded, and they sat in silence for a moment. Steve and Wanda were watching each other, he was watching them, and the small animal was watching Bucky.

"You should get out for a bit." Steve said to him softly. "He's gonna be here for a while, and I know you're probably gonna wanna stay with him tonight."

Bucky nodded to that point. "I don't want to leave the small dog."

"Did you ever give Wanda the stealing lessons you promised her?" Steve added.

He thought about it and slowly shook his head. "Do you want them?" He asked Wanda as he looked to her.

She slowly nodded, and he looked to the small animal. "Will you be alright here without me? Steve can stay with you to keep watch and make sure the doctors don't hurt you."

The small animal barked and pawed at his nose and he let it for a moment before looking back up at Steve.

"Will you stay with him? Just until I return?"

Steve paused. "I can, but we've got a team meeting, is it okay if it's here? I know you need me to stay with him, but we've gotta get together."

"Will Natasha and Clint be here?" He asked worriedly. Wanda put a hand on his arm to keep him steady.

"Yeah." Steve nodded.

"Do not let them touch him." He instructed Steve, and Steve nodded again.

"You have my word." He promised.

He leaned down to the small animal. "Take care of Steve for me small dog. He gets very involved in his work, and sometimes he needs someone to tell him to calm down. Okay?"

Steve made that odd choking noise again, and the small animal barked contentedly.

"We'll take care of each other. You go grab some food, teach Wanda how to be a master thief." Steve nudged him, and he got up with Wanda and left.

They went to the cafeteria for now, which was largely abandoned.

"Are we stealing first, or eating?" Wanda asked him.

He considered, and looked back into the kitchen, where there was only one person visible for the moment.

"Both."

He gave her some basic instruction and watched her sneak into the kitchen. She was doing fairly well, and he tossed her phone in his hand. He'd stolen it from her while he was considering theft or food.

She managed to come back with a box of cereal, two small bowls, and two individual cartons of chocolate milk. He held up her phone as she set them down and she looked to her pocket quickly.

"The first rule of being a good thief. Don't let your guard down." He handed her phone to her and she put it back in her pocket before sitting down.

They each made their own cereal bowls and started eating.

His mind went back to last night, and he started spiralling again in his familiar cycle of blame. Wanda must have noticed, because she looked up at him.

"What's the second rule?"

He looked up at her and blinked himself back to the present for a moment. He thought for a moment, and he was grateful that she accepted the time it took him to recover without any comments or undue staring.

"The second rule would be never do anything big. The bigger you act, the more likely you are to get caught. Steal small things, move as little as possible, stay casual in public, don't get noticed."

She nodded, and two people walked in. Bucky still wasn't entirely sure what this compound was, it was one of the things he had never gotten to asking Steve during his exile, but they were wearing the uniforms that most of the people here wore.

He noticed one of them had a pen in his front pocket and he nodded to them. "Try stealing that pen."

Wanda looked a little surprised. "That seems like a difficult target, shouldn't I start with easier ones?"

He stood up. "Watch."

He went up to them as calmly as he could manage.

They both looked up at him, and as luck would have it they didn't seem to recognize him. "Hey dude." One of them nodded to him.

He nodded back. "Hey. What's up?" He sat down at a reasonable distance from them both and leaned in a little to indicate he was part of the conversation.

"Not much, we just finished training. You?" His target asked.

He shrugged. "Just grabbing a bite to eat, figured I'd say hi."

"Cool talking to you." The other male said to him, and he stood as if to go get food.

"You too." He nodded and clapped his target's shoulder. When he was sure their eyes were on his face he slipped the pen into his palm with two fingers and walked away.

He came back to Wanda and slid the pen across the table to her.

"Just like that." He ate some more of his cereal as she picked up the pen and flicked it through her fingers. "It will work better for you when there isn't as much of a risk of being recognized. Anonymity is essential."

She nodded a little.

He taught her a few sleights of hand he had picked up on the streets, and they practiced on the pen until more people began arriving to eat their food and he started getting uncomfortable.

They went back to the medical place, and the entire team was gathered in chairs near the bed the small animal had been laid on. Natasha and Clint were furthest from it to his faint relief, and Steve and Doctor Banner's chairs were the ones next to the bed, and Tony in the middle of the two groups. Doctor Banner was rubbing the small animal's head distractedly, concentrating mostly on the meeting.

"Bucky, hey." Steve noticed him before he could eavesdrop much, and he walked in slowly. He walked around the circle of chairs to the other side of the small animal's bed, and it rolled over to face him with a small whimper.

He rubbed its head gently, and it burrowed into his hand. "How were you small dog?"

Doctor Banner answered for the small animal, presumably having been rubbing it for the duration of the meeting. "He was good. That's a pretty well behaved dog you have, most dogs don't really like me." The doctor seemed very shy, and Bucky remembered that about the last time he'd seen him, the first day arrived.

"Indeed, it is a very well behaved small dog." Bucky kept rubbing its head. "Did Clint or Natasha touch it?" He asked Steve, and he could feel some surprise from everyone assembled, but he kept his eyes firmly on Steve.

"No, I let them know." Steve assured him, and Bucky returned his gaze back to the small animal contentedly.

"Team meeting over?" Tony Stark asked, and they all nodded and stood. Natasha and Clint left, Steve and Tony migrated to a corner a little further away, and Doctor Banner turned to him and the small animal, mostly the small animal.

"You're a good little guy." He rubbed the small animal's head gently, and the small animal nuzzled the doctor's hand happily.

"I think it has grown used to fear. My memories... Most dogs I saw avoided humans who were afraid of them. The small dog tries to comfort instead." Bucky was surprised he was speaking at all, he certainly hadn't planned to.

The doctor simply accepted his outburst with a nod. "Am I that obvious?"

Bucky assumed he was speaking about the fear he could see, and nodded. "You do the things I do when I feel fear. Which I think is most of the time, to some degree."

The doctor watched him, and he could feel the analysis the doctor was performing, but it didn't feel as judgemental as when others did it.

"Steve told me you were a bit of a science nut back in the day?" His gaze returned to the small animal, and Bucky attempted the vague noise of confirmation he had heard some of the others give. "If you're having a good day, you can come by the lab. I spend most of my time in there."

Bucky could see the cautious peace offering, and he understood very clearly that there was an emphasis on "good day". The doctor was scared of him, but he was willing to put some of it aside, if Bucky accepted.

Bucky could see Wanda in the doorway and could tell she was listening in. It was just her nature, she was possibly more protective of him than he was of her.

He slowly nodded. "I think I would like that."

"You can bring him too, as long as he won't mess with the equipment." Doctor Banner nodded to the small animal, who nudged his hand looking for more affection.

Bucky smiled a little internally. "The small dog will behave, I assure you."

The doctor nodded, both in acknowledgement and farewell, and took his hand away to leave, and Wanda moved aside so he could pass through the door. Steve and Tony were finishing their conversation in the corner and Tony quickly caught up to Bruce and presumably took him to go do science.

Steve and Wanda came back over to him and sat down. Wanda filled Steve in on the events of her first thieving lesson, and Bucky sat down and rested his head on the bed to watch the small animal as he kept rubbing it gently.

He remembered slowly getting drowsier as the sun set, and he remembered saying good night to Wanda. He didn't remember his eyes closing and his head falling to one side next to the small animal in exhausted sleep.

* * *

Just so we're clear, I planned none of the interaction with everyone's favourite doctor, it just kind of happened and I liked where it went

I've got a couple options for next chapter working in the background, so as always feel free to let me know what you would like to see and I'll do my best

Here's a couple hints at what, or who, might be coming next: the android, the monster, prison break, the adopted brother


	13. Chapter 13

Hey everybody! Thanks so much for all the love last chapter

I had specifically a lot of requests from guest reviewers to develop a sister-relationship between Wanda and Natasha, but unfortunately that isn't really where I am personally taking the characters, so I'm sorry that I can't give you what you're looking for but I want to stay true to the images in my head

Hope you all enjoy unlucky number 13, which I am redubbing fluffy number 13 for today (as much as I love hurting you all, sometimes even I need a break from the pain of all this)

* * *

The doctors let him bring the small animal back to his room the next day, as long as he brought it in daily to be scanned by their machines to make sure it was healing properly. He only agreed to this after an encouraging nod from Steve prompted him to.

The small animal couldn't walk reliably yet, so Bucky carried it back and forth to medical and picked it up in his arms whenever it tried to stumble around his room on its broken leg.

He only left his room to bring it to medical or train Wanda or tuck her in at night, and Steve sat with it when he was with her. Over the course of a week, Wanda's skill improved quickly, and she was able to pickpocket the doctors without them noticing with some ease.

Her lying was also starting to improve, as he discovered when she nearly managed to get him to leave his room to go find Steve without him realizing she had lied until he reached his door.

He turned back to see her pulling a small dish of ice cream from behind her back and giving it to the small animal, who licked it happily. He didn't question the lie, he simply asked about the origins of the ice cream, which she had stolen from the kitchen. The small animal seemed very keen about it, so he didn't feel like arguing.

He brought the small animal back from medical the next day and she was there again, with some ice cream for them both this time. It eventually became a common phenomena, Wanda would bring ice cream after the small animal's scans, and they would eat in Bucky's room until it was gone, then Steve would arrive and Bucky would go train her thieving skills.

A week and a half into this routine Steve and Natasha took Wanda for a training mission outside of the compound. Bucky was surprised at his ability to cope with this, but they assured him that they would be close if an emergency arose, which he suspected meant if he tried to kill anyone, and he still had his routine. He trained in the morning, took the small animal for its scans at noon, and got ice cream afterwards.

Then he was left with free time, which started making him uncomfortable, but he remembered his books and picked one up, resting the small animal in his lap.

A few hours later he remembered the offer Doctor Banner had given him and looked at his book. It was about scientific discoveries from the 1980s and 1990s, but he was missing information, and as a scientist the doctor could probably give him some information to fill the gaps.

He picked up the small animal carefully and knocked on the door to Doctor Banner's lab.

"Who's there?" Came the quiet reply.

"Bucky Barnes and the small dog." Bucky replied to him, and after a moment the door opened of its own accord. Bucky walked in to see Doctor Banner finishing poring over a stack of notes in front of him.

He looked up and nodded to Bucky. "Having a good day?"

Bucky sat down on one of the tall chairs across from him. "A better one. Wanda and Steve are gone, so I could be better than this, but the small animal is recovering quickly, and I have my routine."

He was surprised he was sharing this much, but the doctor accepted it with a nod. "Routines are helpful, getting some kind of order."

Bucky nodded back a little. He was glad that there was someone here who could at least partially understand what he went through from day to day. "I had a question. Steve got me a lot of science books, but they don't always give me the information I need to understand."

"What do you need help with?" He moved his notes aside and sat across from Bucky.

"I kept seeing the words genome and DNA, but I don't understand them and there isn't much of an explanation in the book as to what they actually are, just who discovered them." Bucky explained as the small animal nudged him for attention, and he returned to rubbing it quickly.

Doctor Banner pulled up an image of an odd twisting ladder on the computer screen next to them and it rotated slowly.

"That's DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid. That's what makes up every living thing. The genome is the particular arrangement of DNA that makes humans different from, say, dogs." Doctor Banner nodded to the small dog, who barked gently in response, and Bucky kept rubbing it.

"What does it do?" He still didn't understand that part of what it was.

"It serves as sort of the instruction book for how to make everything in your body. You know what cells are?" Bucky nodded, he did know those. "There's DNA in all of your cells, inherited from your parents, which determines how all the different elements of your body look and function, like eye colour or whether or not you get heart disease."

"So when people said that I had my mother's eyes, they were talking about DNA?" He was a little interested in this, it made sense to him.

Doctor Banner nodded. "There are two main alleles that control eye colour, alleles are part of a strand of DNA." He manipulated the image on the monitor, about to continue, and Bucky paused him in total confusion.

"How are you doing that?"

The doctor looked up at him in equal confusion. "You haven't seen a touch screen yet?"

Bucky was now lost, but it was at least a more familiar state of lost that hearkened back to a flying car, and he shook his head.

They spent the rest of the day going through how these touch screens worked, right down to the technical details, and Doctor Banner found a tablet in the lab and reprogrammed it so Bucky wouldn't have access to top secret information, but would have the internet, and a messaging system that would connect to Steve and Wanda's phones and Doctor Banner's personal tablet. It felt strange touching the flat screen and having it respond to him, but he liked it, and the small animal seemed to as well, pawing at the screen and barking happily when it changed.

"Thank you Doctor Banner." Bucky nodded to him as it started to get late.

"You don't have to call me Doctor, just Banner, or Bruce works." He shrugged, still noticeably timid but less so than he had been when Bucky arrived.

Bucky corrected himself. "Thank you Bruce."

Banner nodded to him. "You're welcome. Feel free to come back again if you have another good day."

Bucky nodded back. "I will, thank you again." He nudged the small animal, who barked in thanks, and Banner smiled a little.

Bucky went back to his room and set his tablet on the table by his window before sitting up on it and looking out, rubbing the now tired small animal gently. He sat there until the sky was black and white, and it was hard to see out the window, then he put the small animal in his bed, showered, and laid down next to it.

It was nearly asleep, but managed to raise enough energy to paw at his limp wet hair with its good paw, and he smiled a little.

"You always want to play don't you? You want to explore and question and learn. Here." He moved his fingers around in front of the small dog, and it toyed with them sleepily, eventually passing out with its paw resting on top of his hand.

He didn't move it for the rest of the night.

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As always, if you liked it please let me know, if you hated it let me know, and tell me what you think I could have added or what you'd like to see going forwards

I have a duo of chapters planned ahead, one shorter than the other, so let me know if you guys would like to see the first one early, because I want to make sure that if I get requests I can put them out as soon as possible

As for those four hints I gave you guys, this crosses monster off the list, the hint was mostly trying to freak you all out (sorry). Android, prison break, and the adopted brother are all planned going forwards (but not in that order, and with plenty of room in between for more chapters you guys are asking for)

Love you all, thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

Hey! Sorry I'm posting so late, and sorry it's so short, but it's been a bit of a rough week and I just couldn't find the energy to write

This is part one of a two chapter bit in here, chapter two of it will be longer and (hopefully) on time

Disclaimer: don't own characters, or a dog (single tear)

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Bucky had been sitting on the roof for two hours now. There was a landing pad for the plane up there, and Steve, Wanda, and Natasha were supposed to return at some point today. The doctors had given the small animal clearance to walk on its own, so he let it walk around the roof while he waited, as long as it stayed within reach, which it did. The brace on its leg prevented the small animal from bending its leg, so whenever it walked the leg swung out to one side to accommodate the injury.

He still felt small pangs of guilt every time he heard the quiet thunk of the brace on the ground, but the small animal didn't seem to blame him for the injury, and both Steve and Wanda had assured him the damage wasn't his fault, so they passed by without much effect.

He heard the plane coming before he saw it, and quickly picked up the small animal and got to his feet.

The plane landed exactly where he had expected it to, and he set the small animal back down next to him as the ramp lowered. It walked to the ramp as quickly as it could given the brace on its leg to meet Wanda, who was walking down the ramp, and barked happily at the sight of her.

He could tell Wanda wasn't expecting to see them from the surprised smile on her face, and she knelt down and picked up the small animal for a hug. It licked her face eagerly, and she smiled a little more before setting it down again.

She was on Bucky in seconds, and if he had been less prepared the force of her hug would have knocked him over. He hugged her back tightly and rememorized how it felt to have her there. Two days only consisted of 2880 minutes, but it felt like much longer since he had seen her.

"Did your training mission go well?" He asked, unsure whether her enthusiasm was left over from a success or relief to be home after a failure.

She nodded into his shoulder as he saw Natasha come out of the plane, and he held her a little closer instinctively.

"You should be proud, she used some of the tricks you taught her. Passed the tests we gave her with flying colours." Natasha informed him, and he slowly nodded. She could tell he wasn't comfortable with her there, and he could see it on her face as she nodded to Wanda and left. Bucky didn't let go of her until Natasha was gone.

"You used some of the tricks I taught you?"

She nodded. "I needed a security pass to get into the building." She mimed stealing a pass out of someone's pocket. "No problem."

"I'm glad I helped." Bucky was a little proud that he had helped her pass her tests.

Steve came into view holding the small animal and rubbing it gently, having most likely picked it up when it wandered inside the plane curiously. He handed it to Wanda before he and Bucky mutually hugged one another.

"How'd things go back here?" Steve asked him, and underneath the general happiness of being back home he could feel the concern still.

"They didn't go badly. I visited Banner in his lab, he explained touch screens to me, and he gave me a tablet. The small dog got clearance to walk on its own." Bucky summed up for Steve, who nodded.

"Glad to hear it."

They all went inside, and Wanda excitedly told him about the training mission. Wanda was mostly excited about New York, which she had seen briefly out the plane window on the way back, though she was disappointed about not seeing any of it from the ground. Steve meanwhile told him the technical details of the mission, where they went, what they did. Bucky explained in more detail what had happened while they were gone, which mostly consisted of his visit with Banner.

They ended up in his room, moving on to sharing memories of his and Steve's time in Brooklyn, which Wanda enjoyed listening to. He sat on his desk, Wanda sat on the corner of his bed, and Steve sat in the chair, forming a triangle in which the small animal alternated between roaming and curling up in people's laps for the duration of time they would rub its head.

The small animal finished in Bucky's lap as Steve and Wanda left to go eat and debrief others.

Bucky rubbed its head calmly, both grateful that Steve and Wanda were back and glad they had given him some peace and quiet. He had begun getting used to the relative silence their absence had afforded him.

He eventually noticed it starting to get dark and got a shower like every night.

Tonight he had an idea.

He got out, dried off, got dressed, knelt in front of the small animal on the bed, and explained his plan. It listened to him calmly, tail swaying back and forth a little.

"You have to stay here though. Is that okay?" He asked it gently.

The small animal sat down and licked his nose, and he smiled a little and hugged it gently.

"I promise it won't be long."

He got up and went to Wanda's room. It was close to 10 now, and she was on her bed brushing her hair as usual with the lights dimmed.

He sat in front of her and took the brush, and she saw the different look in his eyes.

"Bucky, what's going on?" She asked with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.

He smiled a little. "Prison break. You're seeing New York."

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Hope you enjoyed, as always please feel free to favourite, follow, and leave a review, I love seeing what you guys have to say

As you can probably tell, next chapter is pretty darn planned, but there is plenty room in both it and the future for suggestions, so let me know what you wanna see and I'll do what I can


	15. Chapter 15

Apologies for not posting while I was deathly ill, but I was deathly ill. I promise the next chapter'll be up on Wednesday as per normal.

I've been planning this chapter for a while, so I hope you guys like it. I did my best to fit everything in, so sorry if it moves a bit slow at times

As always, thanks so much for all the reviews, I love hearing from you guys

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He met up with Wanda in the lobby. She was in charge of getting money, Bucky was in charge of leaving a note for Steve so they wouldn't get too worried.

Wanda arrived and stared at the wall across from the door for a moment.

"Bucky... Where did you find paint?" She was both confused and amused, and he handed her the leather jacket from her closet.

"Is it too much?" He was kind of proud of how back to himself he was, and had maybe gone a little overboard with enjoying himself. He didn't know where this had come from, or how soon it would leave him.  
Painted on the wall in blue capital letters was WE'LL BE BACK SOON, DON'T WORRY PLEASE.

"It's perfect." Wanda grinned.

"Then let's go." Bucky gestured for her to lead the way, and they left the compound.

He hadn't really given any thought to transportation though, so they found themselves walking along the road with Bucky's arm over Wanda's shoulders in case he had to pull her away from traffic. They'd been walking for a half hour when they found a motorcycle, abandoned on the side of the road with a helmet hanging off of it. It had one or two cobwebs on it, but there was still some gas in the tank and keys in the ignition.

Bucky didn't even have to ask, he just got on and handed Wanda the helmet, and she got on behind him and clung tight as he drove straight into the city.

He stopped on a side road leading into the city for a moment and looked around. He remembered this road, it hadn't changed much.

"Steve and I came to New York City a couple times. He got beat up here, twice. He came back the next day and the one guy who beat him up the first time had turned into three. Saved him both times." He remembered taking care of Steve's bruises when they got in, on the condition that he wouldn't pick any fights for the rest of their stay. Both times.

"Did that happen a lot?" Wanda asked him, having taken off her helmet.

He nodded. "He couldn't be left alone five minutes without picking a fight with someone twice his size."

Wanda smiled a little, and he kicked the motorcycle back on. "What do you want to see first?"

"Times Square, I've never seen it up close." She grinned, and he sped off.

He parked the motorcycle and helped Wanda off. She was busy staring at everything, and he had to admit he felt like doing the same. He had seen it recently, while he was Hydra's gun, but he had never had the chance to really look. It was so different.

They climbed up and sat on the steps, looking around at the people for hours before Wanda nudged him, hungry. They got a little food from a couple different places nearby and sat back on the steps eating and watching people. He kept his hand in his pocket so no one would stare, and Wanda took notice.

"I can hide it if you want. Your hand. There are a lot of people, but it's a small thing, and not too many are looking our way."

He slowly nodded and took his hand out of his pocket. It felt strange having it out in public, but Wanda seemed to be doing her task well because no one paid him any heed.

The sun began rising and Bucky leaned back on the wall at the top of the steps.

"What do you feel like doing today? We're out, we might as well enjoy it."

"Well, I stole Stark's credit card so I think we have enough money to go shopping. There was also a card for a restaurant here that I think says private table on it, so I took that, we could go there and eat dinner maybe. We passed a theatre on our way too, we could go there, it looked very large and fancy." Wanda was rambling a little, and he smiled watching her.

"We'll do it all. Broadway is close, so we'll go get tickets for a show tonight when it opens. I'll let you take the lead for shopping though, I haven't done much of it in a while. We'll need nicer clothes than these though if we want to hit Broadway and five star dinners."

She nodded. "We'll do that before we go then. Should we get anything for Steve and everyone back at the compound? They're probably going to be worried about us."

"Probably. Okay, we'll spend the morning on you and I and then in the afternoon we can get presents for everyone. First things first." He nodded to a bagel cart. "Breakfast."

They got breakfast and spent the morning roaming the streets of New York. They went into every store Wanda got excited by, and eventually upgraded their clothing to much more expensive looking casual clothes, on Wanda's insistence that they wouldn't be allowed in any of the nicer stores in the clothes they had. They also got their tickets for a Broadway show that night, the Lion King on Wanda's insistence that it was from Disney and therefore couldn't be too emotional.

They didn't get lunch at any specific time, just got themselves some street food whenever they started to get hungry, so he and Wanda could sample a little of everything. The most enjoyable part of it was watching her eyes light up every time she experienced something new.

Morning faded into afternoon, and they started looking for gifts for people back at the compound. Along with things for themselves. Eventually he made a list in his head of the things they got for other people, just to keep them straight.

Natasha would get the most expensive bottle of vodka they could find in the most expensive liquor store they could find, on Wanda's insistence she would appreciate it greatly after the stress of dealing with Steve worrying about them going missing

Banner would get a record player and some records from the 1930s and 1940s that Bucky remembered enjoying, he remembered Bruce explaining to him that when he got stressed he would lock his door and turn on music to keep himself calm

They went into a leather store, and both debated getting jackets, and Bucky found the perfect one for them both. It came for both genders, and faded from red on top to black on bottom. There were also a large number of pockets on the inside of the jacket, perfect for hiding weapons and gadgets, and they both agreed they were perfect.

They also found a black jacket with purple lining that seemed made for a quiver to go with, which they bought for Clint

When they left the store they found posters up nearby for a rock concert, with a lot of groups that didn't seem to be too famous but from what Wanda could find were very good.

Stark got a ticket to the concert, from what they had both seen he seemed like he enjoyed rock music

Wanda insisted on looking in the jewellery store, only to look.

She had told Bucky about the Vision, a mysterious and still a little confusing mix of robot and man and otherworldly being. He saw her give a brief almost longing glance to the gold colour gems on display in one of the jewellery cabinets and knew. The Vision was due back in a month from his stay in Sokovia, and he could tell she missed him, in a very different way than he missed her while she was gone.

"Wanda?" He nudged her a little to shake her out of her own head.

"Yes?" She looked up at him.

"They remind you of him don't they? The gems?" He nodded to the gems below. Wanda could tell who he meant, and nodded a little.

"He's been gone a while. He's too far for me to see his mind." She wandered a little, and he let her.

He spotted something, and made a few inquiries about it. It did indeed come the way he wanted it to, and he could have it made by the end of the day. He stole Stark's credit card from Wanda long enough to pay for it and replaced the card before she noticed.

They left the store, and Wanda checked the time. Their Broadway show was in two hours, so Wanda suggested they change and go eat.

Bucky had picked up gloves along their trip, so he put one on his metal hand to ease the pressure on Wanda's powers. He stepped out in a suit, and she joined him wearing a dress that reminded him somewhat of old movie starlets, who were most likely long dead by now.

When they arrived at the restaurant the man at the door seemed hesitant to let them in without a reservation until Wanda showed him Stark's card, and they were quickly whisked to a private table.

Wanda let Bucky pick the wine, never having had much of it herself, and Bucky let her order the food, not having much experience with choice lately, let alone food of any high quality.

They tried one of everything, and finished on perfect schedule to see the show.

Wanda was awed by the glamour of the people around them, and Bucky nudged her once in a while to keep her from staring.

When intermission came he looked over to her to see if they were supposed to get up and do anything or not, but to his surprise she was falling asleep. He smiled softly and put his suit jacket around her shoulders, nudging her awake again when intermission ended. She had greatly enjoyed the first half of the show, and he figured that she wouldn't want to miss the conclusion.

When the show ended she was on her feet immediately, applauding quickly, and he had to admit the show had been a spectacle, although not the fun happy carefree Disney show they had been expecting.

Wanda was still tired though, and she leaned on his shoulder a little as they left. He had deliberately parked his motorcycle - he already considered it his - on the other side of the jewellery store so they would have to cross past it on the way. They got changed back into more comfortable and casual clothing and their matching leather jackets.

He had been reassured the shop would still be open, and indeed it was. The owner of the store was in the window, putting up a new display of rings, and to his surprise Wanda stopped at the window to look at them.

He stopped next to her and watched her, and her attention seemed to stop on one.

"Have you ever seen pictures of Pietro? I know I've told you, but I don't know if I ever showed you." Bucky shook his head. "His hair was this colour, after... The experiments." Bucky put a hand on her back gently to comfort her. She didn't talk much about what had been done to her and her twin brother, but he knew she wasn't fond of it.

She had indicated a plain silver band, which looked very simple but had a nice looking design on the edges in a blue colour, and he nudged her. "I'm sure Stark wouldn't mind you getting one more thing for yourself."

She smiled a little. "Not on top of everything else."

They went in and the shop owner pulled out the ring for her to try. It was a little big, but he had a smaller one in the back, and when he brought it out he also produced Bucky's surprise for her.

It was a pair of necklaces, one in gold and the other in a pinkish colour the man had called "rose gold". They were in the shape of a circle and crescent moon. The gold circle had a circular red gem in the center, and the moon shaped pink one had the gold gem that reminded Wanda of the Vision, in the same shape as the necklace itself.

Wanda hugged him tightly with a grin, and he hugged her back.

"Thank you, thank you."

"You're welcome Wanda."

"You two really are a loving family." The shop keeper smiled, and Wanda looked up at him in confusion.

"I would do anything for my little sister." Bucky said smoothly to explain to Wanda, and she nodded a little in understanding and hugged him a little closer.

She put on the ring and her necklace and Bucky paid the man before they left and got back on Bucky's bike.

Wanda held onto him tightly on the ride back, but he slowed down a little as her grip loosened. She was exhausted, they hadn't slept in over a day.

He got her back and helped her off, and he could see everyone assembled in the front area of the building where he had left his message. The moment they walked in everyone started talking at once.

"Buck where were you?!"

"Wanda what were you doing?!"

"You had everyone terrified!"

"What's with the bags and fancy duds?"

"Why did I come, this is too stressful. I'll be in my lab." Doctor Banner walked out as Steve, Natasha, Tony, and Clint watched Bucky and Wanda worriedly.

"Relax. We wanted some time away, so Bucky took me to see New York." Wanda explained calmly. "We got you things, look." She had Natasha, Clint, and Tony's gifts and handed them over before walking down the hall to their rooms.

Bucky had stolen Tony's credit card from Wanda, and tossed it to him as he followed her.

Tony caught it and looked at it. "This- hey wait this is my- Bucky!"

Bucky grinned a little and kept walking.

Everyone went their own way and Bucky got Wanda in her room. She tossed her jacket at a chair and collapsed on her bed, and Bucky pulled the blanket over her.

"Good night Bucky." She yawned and closed her eyes.

"Good night Wanda." He smiled a little and smoothed her hair back away from her face. By the time he pulled his hand away, she was asleep.

He left her room and shut the door gently, to find Steve waiting outside for him.

Steve sighed. "Bucky I was worried. I didn't know when you'd be back, or if you were gonna get in trouble, or..."

Bucky hugged him gently, and Steve hugged him back tightly. "I'm sorry Steve. I just wanted to get out of here for a little while."

They mutually let go.

"I'm glad you're back Buck. Did you have fun at least?"

Bucky nodded, and he and Steve went to his room to talk a little.

The small animal pounced on him the moment he walked in, and he set his bags down and knelt to pick it up. "Did you miss me small dog?"

It licked his face happily and Steve smiled a little. "He barely left my side all day."

Bucky rubbed it gently and sat down on his desk. "I'm home now. You'll be alright small dog. I'm back to take care of you again."

Bucky recounted the day's adventures to Steve and the small animal.

"Oh, I nearly forgot." Bucky looked to find the right bag and gave it to Steve.

Steve opened the bag curiously, and pulled his present out.

"Buck... Wow. I almost forgot." Bucky had gotten him a sketchbook and the best pencils he could find.

"I know. I haven't seen any in your room, you used to draw all the time. You were always carrying around that little book. You were good too." Bucky had made a catalogue in his head of everything in Steve's room, and had been concerned at the lack of sketching surface. It was the main way Steve had escaped from the pressure of life, even after he joined the army.

"Thanks Buck. I really appreciate this. I mean, wow..." Steve opened the book and flipped through the empty pages, and Bucky could see Steve was already filling them in his mind.

"You've had to put up with a lot. Figured you deserve something for it." Bucky shrugged.

"Oh..." Steve set the sketchbook aside and got up to hug Bucky tightly.

Bucky set the small animal aside and hugged him back.

Then he realized he had called this place home, and looked around. It didn't look like any home he'd known, with the exception of the blanket Steve had found just for him, but it felt like it. It felt the way the apartment had, the way the army barracks had, the way his house with his parents had. Steve, the small dog, Wanda...

"I'm glad I'm home again Steve." He said quietly.

Steve held him closer. "I'm glad you're home too Bucky."

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Hey! Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter, if you did be sure to hit that favourite button, or leave me a review and let me know what you liked, or for that matter what you didn't like, and I do take requests if they work out with the characters so let me know what you want to see


	16. Chapter 16

Just as I promised, here's the next chapter right on schedule

Thank you all so much for all of the reviews I've been getting, I love hearing what you guys have to say

Special shoutout to Evaline101 for influencing this chapter, I hope you like it

Disclaimer: I own no one in this story, not even the little toller puppy

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The night they got home Bucky had another nightmare, and it was mutually decided Bucky wouldn't be doing anything new for another long while.

He and Steve trained in the mornings, he took the small animal to be looked at by the doctor, he and Wanda got ice cream, and he spent the afternoons reading, researching, or sharing stories with Wanda, or training her up a little. Nights were spent much in the same way, or with Steve if he had had a more stressful day as the leader of the team. There were a few nights he and Steve just stayed up together silently until the sun rose. Steve would sit on his bed drawing, and Bucky would either sit next to him, watching and rubbing the small animal until it went to sleep, or sitting up on his desk tossing the small ball Wanda had given him for the small animal and watching it chase contentedly. On these nights the small animal was the only one who spoke beyond simple greetings and the occasional short question and answer.

"How long until the little guy gets his leg brace off?" Steve asked two weeks after the trip to New York City had occurred, around midnight.

"The doctor said it should only be two or three more days." Bucky tossed the ball again, and the small animal jumped after it. It seemed to be doing much better now.

Steve nodded and kept drawing. His eyes were on the small animal today, and Bucky came over and sat next to him curiously. The small animal was curled up in Bucky's arms on the page, pawing at his face happily, and Bucky smiled a little and sat back to keep watching Steve draw.

Two days later, exactly on schedule, he and Wanda took the small animal to the doctor, and he removed the leg brace. The small animal hopped up excitedly once it was off, but the injured leg still looked shaky.

"Is he alright?" Wanda rubbed the small animal's head as she looked up at the doctor.

"He'll be fine, the muscles in the leg just aren't used to full range of mobility. The fastest way to get him back to normal would probably be some water exercise. Get him to swim in a bathtub, or even the pool, it'll support him a little better but he'll still get the movement he needs." The doctor explained, and Bucky nodded.

He got directions to the pool and he and Wanda agreed to meet there. He remembered that there was clothing for swimming, but he didn't have any, so he just changed from his jeans into shorts and took off his hooded sweater.

He looked back at the small animal, who was rolling around on the bed with the small ball Wanda had gotten it between its paws. He smiled a little and sat on the bed next to it.

"You seem happy to have the brace off. Glad you can move again?" He rubbed its head gently, and it barked and played with his hand in the place of the ball.

"The doctor says swimming will help. Do you want to go now?" The small animal hopped up onto its paws and barked again, though he noticed it wasn't putting as much weight on the injured paw.

Bucky picked it up gently and carried it to the pool, shifting it uncomfortably in his arms when he felt the gazes of people he passed following him down the hall.

The pool was mercifully empty besides Wanda, who was in the process of jumping in. He watched from the doorway until she landed in the water, and walked over as she came back up for air.

"Hi Bucky, hello small dog." She waved as she grabbed the edge of the pool for support, and Bucky set the small animal down next to her so she could rub its head.

To both of their surprise the moment he let go it jumped in the water, splashing them both. The small animal swam a circle around Wanda happily, and she laughed a little. "I guess he likes water."

"I guess so. Come here." He moved his hand around in the water in front of the small animal, and the small animal swam to his hand and barked happily. He rubbed the small animal's head gently.

"Should we move to where the water is shallower?" Wanda asked, and he nodded. He picked up the small dog and walked back to the shallower end of the pool, and Wanda swam along the side following them.

He set the small animal back in the water, and Wanda waved him in. He slowly got in the water with them, and the small animal swam around in front of him happily. Bucky took the ball out of his pocket and slid it across the water to Wanda, and the small animal quickly swam after it.

They spent almost an hour like that, sliding the ball back and forth between them with the small animal swimming after it. They shared their stories of the first time they went swimming, Wanda with Pietro and their parents, Bucky with Steve and their families.

Steve walked in as they settled into a comfortable silence. "They said you'd be in here. What're you two doing?" He sat on the edge of the pool.

"The doctor said it would be beneficial to the small dog's health to swim. Who are "they"?" Bucky asked.

"Some of the trainees, they said the hot man with the metal arm came this way. He looks like he's enjoying himself." Steve nodded to the small animal, who was swimming up to Steve and barking. Bucky watched as Steve rubbed its head with a small smile, and it scrambled up over the edge of the pool and shook off, shaking water everywhere. Steve laughed a little and did his best to shield himself from the water, but the small animal's fur held an impressive amount of it, and Steve was covered in it.

"I guess he wants me to get wet too." Steve smiled a little and rubbed the small animal's head.

"Then come on in." Wanda said innocently, and Bucky saw Wanda's smirk before Steve abruptly fell in the water. He saw the fading trail of red magic behind Steve, put two and two together, and to his own surprise laughed a little.

The small animal barked happily and jumped back in the water next to him and Steve, and Steve smiled at him. Bucky could tell Steve was surprised by his laugh as well, but it was a happy surprise for them both.

The four of them spent the rest of the day in the pool, leaving only when the small animal got tired out. Once it did, Wanda went back to her room to dry off, and Steve came with Bucky and the small animal to sit in their room. They both put on drier clothing and Steve sat down on Bucky's bed. Bucky got a towel and wrapped it around the small animal gently, rubbing the small animal to dry it off. The small animal let him, perfectly content to sit in his lap on the desk after a few hours spent swimming.

"Is that the first time you've hit the water since we were kids?" Steve asked him after a bit of silence.

Bucky shook his head. "I have since. Once."

Steve went quiet as he remembered. Bucky could see it on his face.

"Right. You... You saved my life. You always did look out for me." Steve smiled a little. Bucky just nodded quietly and kept rubbing the small animal.

Steve looked like he was about to speak when the small animal barked gently and got one paw out of the towel to nudge Bucky.

"What is it?" Bucky picked it up in his arms. It nuzzled its head into Bucky's chest and closed its eyes, and Bucky rubbed its head softly. "You're tired aren't you?" The small animal yawned as he spoke. "I'm a little tired too. It's been a bit of a long day."

"I'll let you get some rest." Steve stood as Bucky looked up at him. "You do look pretty beat."

"I'm sorry to kick you out so early." It was much earlier than he had been going to bed now, but Steve didn't look too upset.

"It's okay. You need your sleep. I'll come get you in the morning." Steve still looked like he had something he wanted to ask, but the look was pushed as far off Steve's as Steve could manage, and Bucky decided to let it be unless Steve asked.

Bucky sat back on the bed and looked up at Steve.

"Did you know it was me?" Steve blurted out. Bucky knew immediately what he meant, but Steve rambled on a little. "When you saved me, when you stopped hitting me, did you know? I thought you did, but I couldn't see that well, and then I was falling in the water, and then you saved me. Did you know... Who I was? Did you recognize me?"

In all his time there, neither of them had ever brought up that moment. He could tell it was an emotional one for Steve, and it was for him too.

He chose his words carefully. "I knew you. I remembered standing by your side, as an ally. I knew you were Steve. I just-" he tried to find the words. "I hadn't met myself yet." He tried. Steve nodded a little.

The small animal barked softly and nudged his side with its nose, and he looked down at it. It looked more awake than it had been, but still tired, and he rubbed its head.

"Thank you, for telling me. I've been wondering since that day. I just... Didn't wanna trigger anything." Steve said gently.

"I don't think you did. But thank you for waiting." Bucky looked up at him again, and he could tell from the small smile on Steve's face that he could see Bucky was grateful.

"Night Buck." Steve said as he backed up to the door.

"Good night Steve." Bucky laid back and closed his eyes.

The small animal curled up against his heart and went to sleep along with him.

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Hope you all enjoyed!

I apologize in advance for the next chapter.

Let me know what you thought, if you enjoyed it, all that jazz, and let me know what you want to see coming up, I have a bunch of free space between now and my (hopeful) chapter 25 special, so I will take as many requests as I can get

Love you all!


	17. Chapter 17

Hey everyone, how's it going? Good? Good. If it's going bad then I hope it gets better because you don't deserve to be miserable

That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please leave me a review, I love seeing what you guys think and getting suggestions from you about what you want to see, it feels so satisfying to be able to give you guys what you want in a chapter

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but at least this time I'm closer to on par with the emotional journey they give the audience

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Bucky didn't have a nightmare that night, but his sleep was restless, and he woke up in a bad mood. He went through his basic daily routine, and shut himself in his room alone with the small animal whenever he could. He didn't feel like dealing with people. He just wanted to be alone.

He also didn't feel like telling that to anyone besides the small animal, so when Wanda walked into his room the next day, while he was still in that mood, he said nothing.

"Did you have another nightmare?" She skipped any kind of formalities.

"No." His voice was monotone and flat, and she looked up at him worriedly.

"Bucky what's wrong? What happened?" She stepped closer to him, and he recognized that if he didn't move he might hit her for prying too hard. A thought which scared the small part of him that was still feeling and hadn't shut off.

He stepped back away from her. "Nothing happened."

"Why are you backing away from me?" She was confused, he could tell.

"Because you were too close to me." Bucky explained flatly. He left out the additional "and if I had moved you instead of myself you would have broken bones".

"I'm sorry. Can you please just tell me what's wrong?" She was upset by him.

He was too tired to react to her plea. "No."

Then he saw her eyes glow red, and mist form around her hands. He tensed, unsure what she was trying to do, until he felt her trying to look inside his head.

"Get out." He growled harshly.

She hesitated, but didn't stop. "Bucky-"

"Get out!" Bucky yelled at her, clutching his head in one hand, and in reply her power intensified, searching for some problem more frantically.

"Get OUT!" Bucky screamed, grabbing his hair and burying his head in his arms. She was everywhere, and it was all he could do to try to push her out, away from his emotions, away from his memories. He could feel nothing but her presence around him.

She mercifully pulled back her powers when he screamed, but he could see through the gap in his arms the red mist was still swirling around her hands.

"Bucky..." She slowly tried to step forwards, and while he couldn't see her face he imagined she was trying to comfort him. He didn't want her there, he didn't want her anywhere, he had just wanted to be alone to cope with his memories alone and talk things out with the small animal and just recover in peace.

"Get out!" He yelled again.

"What's going on here?" Steve asked from the door, apparently having heard him yelling.

Bucky was done.

"Out! Both of you, get out! Just leave me alone! Get out!" He screamed, lowering his arms and nearly hitting Wanda as he lashed out.

Wanda backed away from him quickly and Steve helped pull her away from Bucky.

"Bucky, just calm-"

"GET OUT!" Bucky screamed again, and they finally got the hint.

One of them shut the door, and Bucky watched it for a moment before throwing his chair at it for good measure. It smashed against the door and barricaded it, and Bucky sat down on the floor with his back to the bed.

The small animal had been sitting on the bed this whole time, watching, and slowly walked over to lay on its stomach next to his head. He looked over at it and it licked his face gently.

He sighed and pulled it into his arms. "I just wanted quiet. To be alone with myself, and you. I'm just too tired to handle people. I can't..."

The small animal made a quiet sound and nestled into his arms.

"You understand. You get tired sometimes. Sometimes you just want some time to think, to rest. You don't want to deal with annoying human problems like emotion, you just want things to go back to the way they were. You want to step back from the pit." Bucky rubbed it gently.

The small animal barked softly and rolled in his arms so he would rub its stomach and he complied.

"I wish you spoke English. Or even Russian. I would know you understand me then." He sighed softly. It was frustrating, not being able to properly communicate with the small animal. "Our first priority is food. Steve will continue bringing some, but I don't want to see him. Not yet. Wanda either, not after... I told her to stay out small dog. The last time she was in my head, she was hurt, and she agreed not to do it again. I told her, and she tried anyway. She's lucky I didn't hurt her, on purpose or not, if she had gone on much longer she might have..." The small animal propped its front paws on his chest and he supported it as it nudged his face with his nose. It did this when he started to ramble on, for which he was grateful. This often led to him getting upset, and as today clearly evidenced he did not handle being upset very well.

He stayed there, moving only as the small animal required him to in order to support it.

He only looked up from watching it when there was a knock at the door.

"Bucky? I brought you supper. I know you like having your schedule, and... I thought maybe you'd be a little calmer now, maybe you'd wanna talk about what happened with you and Wanda." It was Steve.

Bucky felt bad about it, but he didn't want to talk to Steve. Not right now.

After ten minutes of silence he heard a tray be set down outside his door. "I'll just leave your food here. If you need me I'm right next to you. Just knock on the wall or something if you don't feel like leaving your room. Or message me on that tablet, I'll try to keep my phone on me a bit more often."

Steve slowly walked away.

Bucky let hours pass, and let the sky turn dark. Once it had, and he had heard Steve go to bed next door, he got up silently and walked out. The small animal followed, and nudged the tray of food by his door.

He knelt down and picked up the tray before rubbing the small animal's head. "I know you're hungry small dog, we're getting food now. I promise."

The small animal barked softly in contentment and Bucky set the tray outside Steve's door.

They moved on to the kitchen, and Bucky passed a small amount of food to the small animal to carry. He carried the vast majority himself, but the small animal would protest when he carried it all while they were in New York.

He led them back to his room and found room on his shelves to store the food, letting the small animal eat a portion now.

He got himself a portion and leaned back on his bed. The small animal hopped up next to him and gnawed on its food happily. He smiled softly and rubbed its head as they both ate.

They fell asleep there. When Bucky woke up it was late morning, and he trained until noon. The small animal played with Wanda's ball until he finished, then pawed at his leg for food. He rubbed its head and got them both something to eat.

Then there was a knock on his door and he looked up.

"Bucky, can I come in?" Wanda asked softly. He paused, considering answering, but his answer would only be no. He needed some time alone, and he knew if he saw her he would only be upset that she broke their rule.

After a while there were new footsteps outside the door, most likely Clint's, and Wanda's followed him back down the hall.

He sighed in relief, somewhat grateful now to Clint for taking her away.

He finished eating and spent the remainder of the day researching on the tablet Banner had given him. He took a break from history today though, and focused on something Sam had said when he arrived.

He got through a basic understanding of PTSD by the time the sun set, and set his tablet aside to feed himself and the small animal again.

They sat up on his desk, and the small animal attempted to play with an insect on the other side of the window as Bucky watched it, tired but content. The small animal could consistently make him less brooding, and that was the primary reason he hadn't sent it out with Wanda and Steve.

He woke up leaning on the window the next morning, with the small animal curled up safely under his hand. He looked over at his metal arm and flexed the joints of it, watching how the panels slid against each other. He avoided using it at all costs, for anything besides combat, and even when he was training with Steve he would favour the human arm. It was a constant reminder of the weapon they had turned him into, and he saw the hurt in Steve's eyes every time he saw where it joined Bucky's shoulder. It reminded Steve of them too. Sometimes he wished he could remove it, but he couldn't, and he reminded himself that he didn't need to. That he could survive with it there.

The small animal woke him out of his thinking with a bark, and he looked down at it.

"Good morning to you too." He rubbed its head gently, and it allowed it for a while before leaping off the desk and trying to jump up to get food, which was three shelves above how high the small animal could jump.

He got off the desk and got it some food, kneeling down and letting the small animal eat it from his hand.

He exercised, ate, researched, ate again, and spent the night staring out the window at the stars.

This went on for two more days.

He went to bed the third day after spending both of the previous nights asleep at his desk and discovering his back felt sore the next morning. The small animal laid down facing him on the other pillow and he rubbed its head until it felt asleep.

He slowly closed his eyes and did the same.

Then Bucky heard Wanda start screaming.

He had heard her scream before, that part wasn't new, especially not at night when his nightmares would hit the hardest.

But he had never heard her scream while he was awake.

* * *

I'm so sorry.

Favourite, follow, review?


	18. Chapter 18

Hey everybody, thanks so much for the love, really appreciate everything you guys do for this story

The following chapter is presented by the suggestion of Randomjr. Thank you, hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or settings.

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He got up and ran without a second thought to anything else.

The screaming was coming from Wanda's bedroom, but by the time he got to her door it had stopped, over as quickly as it had started.

He ran into her room and scanned around, but saw only Wanda, sitting up with her legs pulled up to her chest and her face buried in her knees.

Upon a little further examination she appeared to be shaking, and he realized she was sobbing.

He sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms, so if he had so desired he could have wrapped his whole body around her like a cocoon.

Her face turned so she was partially facing his chest and she gripped his shirt a little as she cried quietly, and he put a hand on the back of her head and an arm around her shoulders to reassure her.

Steve and Natasha ran in and he looked up at them briefly, only long enough that he could determine they weren't a threat.

He looked back down at Wanda and watched her worriedly as Steve and Natasha presumably took in what was going on.

"What's going on here?" Natasha spoke first. Bucky didn't even look up as he shrugged a little, too focused on Wanda.

"Were you here when she started screaming?" Steve asked him, and he shook his head. He heard a quiet sigh of relief as he realized they had thought he was responsible, which was reasonable given who he was.

"You go back to bed, I can take care of them." Steve said quietly.

"Are you sure that's the best plan of action here? He's your friend, if-"

"Nat he wasn't here. He didn't hurt her. At this point I'm honestly just surprised he wants to talk to people again."

"I don't." Bucky informed him bluntly as he cradled Wanda against his chest. "Wanda is upset, I'm here to keep her safe."

He could see them exchange a silent conversation out of the corner of his eye.

"Do you think you'll need me to stick around?" Steve offered.

Bucky shook his head, and after a bit of silence added "Thank you, but I can take care of her."

Steve nodded. "Okay. You know where I am if you need anything."

Bucky nodded in return, and both Steve and Natasha left. Someone else came down the hall and shared a brief conversation with them outside the door, most likely Clint, before they went back to their rooms.

Bucky focused in on Wanda, and her breathing started evening out a little, and his shirt stopped getting any more wet.

"Do you feel better now?" He asked softly, and she looked up at him.

"A little. Why did you come?" She looked confused now more than upset.

"You screamed. I thought you were in danger. Then I saw you, and you looked like you had had a nightmare. I wasn't going to leave you." He explained simply. She rested her head on his chest and sighed softly, and he held her close.

"I saw your chair, I think. I've been having dreams about you, bad ones, since I tried to… To get in your head… But before it was just you, killing people. This was all new. They put me in a chair and…"

"I know." Bucky held her a little closer. He could see in her eyes that she didn't want to go on.

"Hydra hurt me when they gave me my powers, but it was nothing like that." Her voice was quiet and afraid and she curled up in his arms.

"It was just a dream Wanda. That's all. You were never there." He reassured her gently. To her it was just a dream, his past wasn't her reality.

They stayed there silently for a moment and Bucky continued rubbing her back gently. She slowly relaxed in his arms and her eyes drifted shut.

Soon afterwards the door nudged open, not properly shut, and the small animal walked in and jumped up on the bed next to them.

"Don't worry, she is not hurt. Not physically." He reassured the small animal. It barked softly and jumped into her lap, and he rubbed its head with one hand as he supported Wanda with the other.

"This is why I told her not to enter my mind. I told you. I was right. I knew it would hurt her, just like last time." He looked back to Wanda worriedly. The small animal barked quietly again and curled up in her lap, and he looked to it for a moment.

"Are you going to guard her small dog? Keep watch?"

It yawned and closed its eyes in response and the flicker of a smile briefly ghosted his face.

"Don't worry. I'll watch over you both."

Wanda hummed softly and he looked down to realize she had woken up faintly.

"When did he come in?" She reached forwards and rubbed the small animal's sleeping head.

"Only a few minutes ago. Go back to sleep, I'll wake you if you show signs of another nightmare." He said quietly to her, and she closed her eyes again, hand still lazily rubbing the small animal's head.

"Is it my fault I'm having these dreams?" She asked softly.

He knew she wanted him to reassure her it wasn't, but this was entirely a product of her breaking their rule and trying to enter his mind. "Yes. It is."

She was silent for a moment. "Then why are you here with me still?"

He held her a little closer. "Because you need protection, from the products of my mind. As much as I can I will help you with this. But don't ever go inside my head again."

She nodded a little. "I'm sorry."

He rubbed her back a little and her breathing eventually slowed to that of a deep sleep. He moved so his back was against the wall and sat up with her and the small animal through the night.

* * *

There it is! Let me know what you liked, what you didn't, and what you want to see next

Thinking I might put in a little clarity of vision next chapter, let me know if you have any thoughts for that

(totally subtle, not at all obvious what you're hinting at there. not a bit.)


	19. Chapter 19

Hey everybody! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I feel really good about it

Thanks so much, as always, to everyone leaving me reviews, they're sometimes the best part of my day

Disclaimer: I do not own Bucky, Wanda, Steve, or any other characters appearing in this chapter

* * *

The next day Bucky spent the day with Wanda and the small animal, staying in her room. Wanda only left to get enough food for the day, and neither Bucky nor the small animal left at all. The small animal spoke to Steve briefly, and Steve rubbed its head as Wanda quietly assured him that they were both okay, Bucky just needed to readjust to people again and wanted to do it slowly, and Steve accepted that and wished him well through the door before leaving.

He almost felt bad about not communicating with Steve himself, but at the moment he could barely get any energy to talk to Wanda at all, and Steve took more concentration than she did.

She had a television in her room, so she turned on some kids' movies and they sat back and played with the small animal.

That night when the sun had been down for a few hours Wanda started to fall asleep, so Bucky picked her up and set her in bed.

He tucked her in gently. "Good night Wanda."

"Bucky?" She reached for his metal hand, and he flinched away instinctively.

"What is it?" He knelt down at her eye level to make up for the sudden motion.

"Will you stay? I don't want to wake the others if I have another nightmare, and you understand them better than anyone." She asked tiredly.

He slowly nodded. "Alright. We'll stay with you Wanda."

She smiled a little and closed her eyes, and Bucky sat up on the bed next to her with his hand near hers in case she needed the physical contact.

She took it and dropped to sleep, and the small animal laid down between them.

She did have a nightmare that night, but the small animal managed to wake them both before she started screaming.

She sat up and curled up in Bucky's arms, and the small animal sat on her chest comforting her. Bucky held her close and spoke softly to calm her down, reciting army regulations as the first thing that came to his mind, but she didn't seem to mind, focusing in more on his calming tone than the words themselves.

The next day Bucky let Steve back in, for short periods of time. He brought them regular meals instead of one large amount of food, and stayed only long enough to make sure Bucky was okay and didn't need anything from him. He at least seemed to understand why Bucky was slow to readjust to him, and concentrated the physical contact he normally had with Bucky onto the small animal.

That night Wanda had another bad dream, though not a nightmare, and when Bucky and the small animal woke her she only took a moment to catch her breath and moved her head to Bucky's leg instead of her pillow, which he remedied by placing the pillow between her head and his leg. She fell to sleep again quickly that night, and Bucky soon followed with a protective hand on her shoulder.

The next morning he took Steve's offer to train in order to get back on schedule, avoiding eye contact with the other people around the compound, and he ate breakfast with Steve and Wanda in his own room.

He let Steve and Wanda do most of the talking, on the subjects they had in common, most of which were around the oddity of America today, the culture and such, while he rubbed the small animal's head.

Bucky would reply with a nod here or a few words there, and they accepted the minimal response instead of waiting for more, for which he was grateful.

He and the small animal went with Wanda to tuck her in again that night, and she took his hand and asked him to stay again. He sat down on the bed next to her and they both soon fell asleep.

Bucky's eyes opened into slits when he heard movement in the room. Wanda was still asleep next to him, and the small animal had only moved minimally, so he scanned the room as well as he could without moving his head, to keep the illusion he was asleep.

He saw a dark figure standing in the corner of the room very slowly drifting towards the bed.

Bucky very slowly got the knife in his back pocket, and the intruder didn't seem to notice the movement until Bucky attacked.

Bucky slammed the man into a wall, and ran forwards to hit him, only for his fist to… Go right through?

The man was still there, and when Bucky pulled his arm out of the dark figure it pushed him back.

Bucky couldn't tell whether or not he had finally gone insane, and was now fighting a hallucination, but the small animal and Wanda were in danger from it so that didn't really process.

He managed to land half of his blows at least, when the man was making contact with him to fight back, but the other half of Bucky's blows passed straight through, and he quickly had to adapt his fighting style to simply attempt to land as many lethal blows as possible.

He didn't notice Wanda had woken up until a light turned on, momentarily stunning them both, and by the time they had regained their sight Wanda had shoved them apart with her red mist, which the small animal was simply leaping around in happily.

Sometimes the small animal was a battle companion. Sometimes it was a small child.

He looked up at the intruder at the same time Wanda did, and she spoke for him. Though, in a more hopeful and much less confused tone than he would have.

"Vision?"

When Wanda had described the Vision, she had neglected to mention that he didn't look human. He had the form of a man, but she had only told him about the glistening yellow infinity gem in his skull, not the fact that his skin was red and blue, and looked distinctly robotic. This would have been useful information in helping Bucky process what had just happened.

Wanda released the red mist, earning a whine from the small animal, to run up and hug the Vision, and after a moment he hugged her back.

"Who is this man?" The Vision asked her cautiously.

Bucky slowly stepped forwards, close enough to protect her if needed. "Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes."

He hadn't used his full military title in a long while, but saying it aloud gave him a little extra confidence to hold himself up against the Vision.

"Vision, this is Bucky, Steve's missing friend. Bucky, this is Vision. Who attacked who first?" Wanda got to the point quickly.

"He did." The Vision stated simply.

"He was standing in a dark corner watching the bed." Bucky explained a little more.

"I do apologize, I heard movement and thought you were awake." The Vision explained as well.

Wanda sighed. "Please, knock on the door next time?"

The Vision nodded and she hugged him again. "When did you get back?"

"Only moments ago. I checked in with Agent Romanoff and proceeded here. Why is Steve Rogers' missing friend in your bedroom?" The Vision looked as cautious about Bucky as Bucky felt about him, and the part of him that wasn't torn between confusion and protective anger so far admired the Vision.

"It's a bit of a long story." Wanda started, and the three of them sat down on her bed. Bucky felt no need to contribute, as Wanda was explaining the events leading up to now perfectly well, so he rolled the small animal's ball back and forth as it pounced on it happily, and he watched the Vision out of the corner of his eye, studying his movements.

The Vision never interrupted the story, and when it was finished regarded Bucky with a curious gaze that made him stare very pointedly at the ball rolling between his hands on the bed.

"Do you believe you are a good man Sergeant Barnes?"

Bucky looked up at him in complete surprise. In all of his time here he had encountered that thought constantly, in everyone he met, but it had never been formulated to him as a question. To Wanda and Steve, the answer was yes. To many of the others, the answer was either no or entirely unobtainable and so the question wasn't even worth asking.

The small animal barked and pawed at his chest, and he realized he hadn't yet answered.

"I've hurt too many to be a good man anymore. I might've been, once. All I am now is effort not to be a bad one." He said simply, putting to words the feeling in the back of his head when Steve told him he was a good person, or when Wanda did.

Wanda took his hand gently, and he let her but didn't apply any pressure to it. Now that he had met the Vision's eyes it was hard to look away, so he simply met the gaze with the most neutral face he could manage. He looked down when the Vision did, which was to look at the small animal, who had begun curiously examining the Vision.

"What do you think small dog? Do you trust him?" Bucky asked it gently, watching it with a relaxed practice that helped shake off some of the unease of the Vision.

It mostly seemed perplexed more than anything by the human form and motion but lack of human scent.

"Does it have a name?" The Vision asked him.

"Steve, officially." Bucky said as he watched it. "No one calls it Steve, I call it small dog, as does Wanda, Steve and the others call it little guy." He added to explain a little further.

"Why is it named Steve then, if it is not called Steve?" The Vision seemed confused.

"I was asked its name while I was walking around Brooklyn on my own. My Steve wasn't there, so the small dog became him until he found me." Bucky gestured gently for the small animal to return to him and rubbed its head. He wasn't entirely sure why he was being so open with the Vision, but he knew Wanda trusted him, and the Vision did give off a certain sense that he was someone meant to be talked to.

"It seems to follow your orders well for being so young." The Vision commented, and he nodded a little. "You have a very strong bond with it. As you do with Wanda."

Bucky looked up at the Vision, and despite the calm blank face he was presented with he swore he had heard some emotion in his voice.

They both looked over at Wanda to discover she was asleep next to them, still holding Bucky's hand loosely.

"She missed her brother, and found me at a time when I was very emotionally vulnerable. You heard the rest." Bucky said more quietly so as not to wake her.

"Yes. I cannot help wonder though…" He could see where the Vision was going with that train of thought and gently pulled his hand out of Wanda's so he could open her side table and pull out the necklace he had bought for the Vision, before very slowly moving Wanda's hair aside to show him the matching one she had around her neck.

"She's all yours tiger." He said in a momentary burst of pre-war Bucky as he handed the Vision the necklace. He didn't know where these bursts came from yet, but it felt almost natural to reassure the Vision of this.

He examined the necklace for a moment before fastening it around his neck and looking back at Wanda. "She missed me."

"Yes." Bucky concurred. "She'll be happy you're home, when she's more conscious."

"Yes, being conscious would affect that wouldn't it?" The Vision said simply, and Bucky nodded and sat back.

Not to sleep, he didn't trust the Vision enough for that yet, but to relax and watch over Wanda's sleep to ensure she didn't have any more nightmares.

The Vision asked him about her nightmares, as Wanda had only really told him she'd been having them, and Bucky explained their contents to him, as well as some of the context behind them in the event that he couldn't be with her for some reason.

The Vision only asked a few questions, mostly about specific details, and ended up staying as well, and a slow comfortable silence settled as they waited out the night. While Bucky didn't know if he trusted him yet, he could say he at least felt safe leaving Wanda in his care for short moments, and could see himself eventually allying himself with the Vision.

* * *

Hope you liked it, as always please feel free to leave me a review (negative, positive, suggestions, and questions all welcomed), and if you liked it make sure to hit follow because I update (almost) every Wednesday

I'm curious, who's one character that you'd really like to see more of? Whether it's someone I've already introduced or another MCU character you think Bucky and the small animal should meet, I'm perfectly open to suggestions, and will do what I can for you guys

Peace


	20. Chapter 20

Here it is, finally, totally not late or anything. Sorry about that.

Big changes ahead for Bucky, let's see how he handles them

Disclaimer: I. DO. NOT. OWN.

* * *

Things would change with the Vision returning, Bucky knew that for certain.

When Sam came by, Steve was around less, but he didn't live on the compound, and he and Steve weren't romantically involved, at least to his knowledge.

Wanda and the Vision were going to want time together, which was going to limit his time with her, and he wasn't comfortable enough around the Vision yet to trust him on his bad days, the days where he just wanted to sit in silence with Wanda or Steve and watch them and listen to them.

Steve was still busy training new recruits and running the team, so unless he joined the team there was no way to increase interaction with him to compensate.

Doctor Banner was an ally, but the kind of ally he needed to be solidly coherent to interact with, otherwise there was too much risk.

Natasha and Clint could be battle companions in certain situations, Wanda certainly seemed to trust them, but he didn't yet, and at any rate Clint vanished from the compound for days on end with seemingly no warning or explanation.

Tony Stark was... Well, Tony Stark. He didn't trust Bucky, and Bucky didn't really trust him, and that worked perfectly well for them.

Sam was the only other person he had really properly met here, and while he seemed reliable, he was never at the compound so that wouldn't work even if Bucky had known him well enough to trust him.

He did at least have the small animal. That was the one constant, the one person who wouldn't leave his side. Steve had commented before on the loyalty of dogs being pronounced in the small animal, and Bucky most certainly agreed.

Bucky and the small animal spent a full day with Wanda and the Vision. He observed them carefully, not saying much unless the Vision engaged him in conversation, but the topics of conversation stayed more neutral than "do you believe you are a good man", so he could respond without having to think quite as much in order to keep control.

The Vision seemed to genuinely care for her, in his own way, but the way they interacted reminded him more of Steve trying to talk to women, both of them, and he got a feeling that they would never act on any emotions they might be feeling without a significant push. Bucky remembered giving Steve a few of those.

That night they both stayed with her. They had stayed up talking, Wanda had fallen asleep, and quite simply neither of them left.

Bucky had begun to drift when the Vision spoke up.

"Sergeant Barnes? Sergeant Barnes are you awake?" His voice sounded urgent, and Bucky sat up immediately. The Vision was leaned over Wanda with a concerned expression, and he realized she was whimpering with the beginnings of a nightmare.

He pushed the Vision away quickly and shook Wanda. "Wanda, wake up. This isn't your nightmare to have, wake up, now!"

Wanda snapped awake with a cry and Bucky held her shoulders to ground her.

After a moment she looked up at him, and he could see her eyes glistening. Without a word he sat back and pulled her into his arms, and her tears quickly got his shirt damp. He spoke to her softly, this time about when they had gone to New York City together, as a basic recounting of the events. She started to calm in his arms and stopped shaking, and he loosened his grip on her so she could shift if she was uncomfortable.

The entire time he could feel the Vision studying his every move, no doubt to be able to mimic it later should it happen without Bucky around.

Bucky looked down at her, and saw her fingers toying with the ring she had gotten in memory of Pietro, and it clicked with him why tonight she had begun screaming again.

"He was in it this time." He guessed, and Wanda looked up at him. "Your brother." He added in clarification.

She nodded a little and looked back down. "In my place in the chair."

"In mine. These are my memories Wanda, not yours." He said immediately. He needed her to remember that, that these were not her memories, without that she could easily become as scarred as he was.

She curled up in his arms and stared at her knees until the small animal jumped up, and she shifted her gaze to it as she hugged it close and buried her face in its fur.

Bucky rubbed her back gently until she fell back to sleep, and he gently laid her back down, with the small animal drifting to sleep in her grasp.

He looked up to the Vision now, and the Vison watched him for a moment.

"Do you have any questions Vision?"

He and the Vision quietly discussed how best to handle her nightmares in the event that she had more. Bucky appreciated the quality of questions that the Vision asked him. He realized he had begun trusting him, maybe not entirely, certainly nowhere near as much as Steve or the small animal, or Wanda, but enough.

He fell asleep extremely early in the morning, and didn't wake until noon. Wanda had fed the small animal at least before leaving to train, and Steve had brought him to his own room somehow. He woke up on Steve's bed, and looked around tiredly.

Steve looked up from his sketchbook. "Hey sleepyhead. I was wondering when you'd get up."

Bucky groaned and sat up. "What time is it?"

"12:23. If you'd stayed out much longer I was thinking of waking you up so you could eat." Steve informed him.

"Why didn't you?"

"Because you need your sleep. You were always a night owl, and lately you haven't been sleeping at all, you've just been staying up taking care of Wanda." He could tell Steve was concerned, and he remembered something similar to this happening before. He had gotten sick once when they lived together, and Steve had refused to let him do anything for himself. Steve had to do everything for him, and once Bucky had recovered he had to turn around and take care of Steve because he had worn himself thin. The look on Steve's face now reminded him of that, though at least now it was harder for them both to get sick. If they even could, Bucky wasn't clear on that point.

"Thanks." Bucky nodded to Steve a little, and he could see Steve understood, at least partially, how much thought was going on behind his eyes.

"Don't want my best friend passing out on me. I want you healthy." Steve smiled a little.

"I don't think either of us have ever been healthier. We've been drugged up to stay in peak physical condition." Bucky sat up a little straighter.

"There's some work involved. Unless you're just using our training sessions to beat the crap out of me." Steve joked a little, and Bucky smiled a little.

"Well I get to do it so often." He tried his hand at teasing for the first time in a little while, and it felt natural. Steve responded well to it, so he had to have done it right.

"Getting less and less often now. I might be able to get a streak of victories in soon." Steve was smiling.

"You aren't the only one getting better." Bucky warned him, hoping the good nature he meant came across, and it looked like it had since Steve's smile hadn't faded.

"We're both doing great." Steve agreed, and a thought clicked in Bucky's head.

"Why? I mean, you have a team to lead on world saving crusades, but why do I need to train? I don't use my skills."

Steve set his sketchbook aside and watched Bucky concernedly. "What are you saying Buck?"

Bucky replied honestly. "I don't know. I don't know what I'm saying. I just... Miss it. You know? The action, moving, fighting next to each other. It was a rush I think. Saving the world next to Captain America."

Steve nodded a little. "It was. It felt good getting out there. I remember..." Steve smiled. "I remember whenever the press would come by trying to get you to talk after a mission. You'd just make them uncomfortable until they came to bug me."

"And I would watch them talk to you. You were always so awkward, after some of them I would hold your shield up to your face and you were the same colour as the red circle, close anyway." Bucky remembered. "And you would always jump up whenever a general walked by in case he had another mission for us."

"Those were good times." Steve nodded.

"You're the general now. Walking by and giving people missions." Bucky noted. The comparison seemed obvious to him, but it took Steve by surprise. He could see Steve thinking about it.

"Yeah. I guess I am. Fury does a lot of that too though, and Stark's assistant, his replacement for JARVIS." Steve shrugged. Bucky nodded a little.

"They let you lead the team. But you have a lot more responsibility now than you did. You give more orders. You arrange missions for other people, that you aren't going on."

Steve nodded. Bucky watched him as he felt his mind processing, thinking. He didn't know where this was coming from, but he had thought about it before, and he knew if he didn't say it now it might be months.

"What's going on in your head?" Steve asked him.

"I want a mission. With you, and maybe others if you think they're needed. I want to get back out in the field and use my skills." The words felt strangely right coming out of his mouth. He knew he wasn't really ready, but he needed to start pushing out from his comfort zone. Seven months ago he would have broken down and lashed out from the sudden change the Vision presented, or even more recently than that, but now he was handling it surprisingly well, and he was willing to take the risk.

"Bucky are you sure? You just came off a stretch where you didn't wanna talk to anyone, you're still not recovered yet from everything Hydra did to you."

He flinched internally at the mention of Hydra, but pushed past the memories. He didn't know when the next time he would get this much energy would be. "I never will be Steve. We both know that. But if I'm here, I want to be useful. Wanda hasn't entirely recovered either, and she's allowed out. So are you, and you were hurt by Hydra too."

Steve was studying him, and he studied Steve in return. There were pencil smudges on his fingers, and some on his face from where he had pushed his hair back while he was drawing. His shirt was tight across his muscles, but his jeans were a bit looser so he could actually move. His eyes were a mix of contemplative, worried, and planning.

"Are you sure about this?" Steve finally asked.

Bucky shook his head. "Not at all. But I think it'll be good for me, if I can adapt."

Steve sighed. "Okay. Um..." He rubbed his forehead. "I'll call Sam. It might be good for you to talk to him. The team will want to know too, I need to tell them about this. That's gonna be a really long meeting."

"Is there anything I need to do? To make this happen smoothly?" He knew it was in both of their best interests for this to be smooth, Bucky to help him adjust, Steve to relieve some stress.

"Try to be open with Sam when he comes if he can make it, maybe try to talk to some of the rest of the team. Doctor Banner doesn't come out much, but the rest. Natasha, Clint, Stark. Scott Lang maybe, he comes on some missions, he's not an Avenger yet but he's working with us, training, so is Sam, and Colonel Rhodes is a little, but not as much, he's regular army so he has other duties."

Bucky nodded. "Steve, take a deep breath. You're freaking out inside."

Steve looked up at him and slowly breathed in and out. "Thanks Buck. I just don't want this to all crash in a flaming mess."

"Neither do I. Which is why I need you calm. I do worse if the people around me aren't in control."

Steve nodded. "Okay. Don't worry, we'll get this sorted out. You wanna come on missions, I'll get you on a mission. Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers, back at it again."

Bucky smiled a little. It was nice, hearing their names together again, ready for action. Maybe this was really what he needed.

* * *

Excited? I know I am

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter, I got some really good feedback, plus an idea for next chapter that really climbed the walls of my imagination

If you liked it, let me know by punching that favourite button, or leaving me a review. I do take requests, and I do answer questions, so if you have anything to ask or add let me know, I love seeing what you guys all have to say


	21. Chapter 21

Evaline101 suggestion: Spidey!

I AM NOT LATE. IT IS STILL TECHNICALLY WEDNESDAY IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD. Just... not... mine...

Props for this chapter go to Evaline101 for a certain man who is gonna show up here, and in future chapters, and also why he's gonna be showing back up.

Disclaimer: a.p.u. I don't own these guys, if I did certain specific characters mentioned below would not be hurt. Ever. (I'm lookin at you jerk.)

* * *

Steve made some calls, and arranged for Sam to come up in a couple of days to talk to him. He talked to the team about Bucky joining, on the same level as Wanda or Sam, and a few hours after he went in he came back out with a consensus that they would see what Sam said, but cautiously let him try it out if they agreed Bucky was ready.

Bucky could understand their hesitancy. He was a risk at the best of times, and none of them had much experience with him.

He didn't tell Wanda he was trying this. If they didn't let him join them yet then she would just be disappointed, and if they did then it would be a pleasant surprise for her to find out.

Hiding this was made easier by the fact that she and the Vision were being taken off on a mission with Clint and Natasha for a few days.

He and the small animal came up to the roof to see her off. She put her bag aboard the plane and hugged him close, and he hugged her back.

"Stay safe Wanda." He said softly.

"I will, I promise. You take care of yourself." She hugged him a little tighter, and he nodded.

"I will. Steve is taking some time off, so we'll probably be training most of the time you're gone."

"Have fun." She let go with a smile, and he smiled back a little.

"You too."

The small animal barked and Wanda cuddled it for a moment before waving goodbye and getting on the jet.

He stayed on the roof watching it go until the small animal became restless and started jumping at his leg.

"Hungry?" He looked down, and it barked. "So am I. Let's head in."

They went inside and met up with Steve before going to the cafeteria. He wouldn't have gone in without Steve, there were just too many people, but he needed to adapt eventually, and if anything went wrong Steve could reign him in.

Once they'd eaten they spent the rest of the morning training, and passed the afternoon with documentaries.

They did that for a couple days, occasionally training the small animal for a few hours in the morning too, to keep it in good shape. The small animal didn't seem to mind training, but it didn't have the endurance to work as long as Bucky and Steve yet.

On the third day Bucky woke up and got dressed to go train with Steve. The small animal woke up tiredly when he nudged it, and he gave it a little food to keep its energy up.

It was awake by the time Steve knocked on the door, and they left for the gym together.

They both blinked in surprise when they arrived to see Stark there, sitting in a camping chair with a glass of scotch, watching the ceiling with a pleased smile.

Bucky and Steve looked up just in time for a red and blue clad figure to drop upside down from the ceiling and suspend in front of them. Bucky jumped back, fairly startled, but the figure didn't look like it was about to attack him so he didn't lash out.

He was a little proud of that.

"How's it hanging?" A male voice came out of the suit, which from his step back he could see was emblazoned with a spider.

Neither he nor Steve quite knew how to react so they stayed silent and watched the spider person in confusion.

He jumped down from the web hanging from the ceiling that he had been holding on to and stood in front of them. "Oh my gosh you're Captain America. I'm a huge fan. And you have a metal arm? That's awesome dude!" The spider person lifted off his mask to reveal that he was a child, 16 at most, as he looked between Steve and Bucky excitedly.

Bucky didn't know what he was supposed to do and looked to Steve.

Steve looked to Stark. "Stark, why is there a kid in a spider costume here?"

"I'm-"

"He's Spider Man. Kid's been running around New York rounding up every criminal he can find."

"Why's he here?" Steve asked.

"Mister Stark-"

"I invited him. I wanted to see what all he can do, and any good scientist knows you need a clean testing facility. No variables." Stark waved to the gym around them.

"Guys I'm right here..." The spider child mumbled. Bucky kept his attention on Steve and Stark.

"What exactly can he do?" Steve asked Stark.

"I-"

"He got bit by a radioactive spider, gave him sweet powers. He can stick to walls." Stark explained.

"And the webs?" Steve looked up at the bits of spider web that were sticking to the ceiling.

"They're-"

"He invented web shooters. The kid is a bit of a genius, he just made them in his bedroom with some spare parts. Apparently superpowers weren't enough for him." Stark was clearly enthusiastic about this child.

"I'm standing right here."

"That is impressive, but is it really a good idea to be bringing kids to the compound who don't have any kind of security clearance?"

"I'm-"

"Relax Cap, he's not gonna tell anyone." Stark rolled his eyes.

"Can you be sure of that?"

"I can-"

"He's already keeping a secret identity. It wasn't easy finding out this kid was Spider Man. I think he'll do just fine hiding this place."

"Guys I-"

"Does anyone else on the team know about him being here?"

"Bruce, maybe. I don't know if he was awake, but he was definitely in the room when I said I was gonna pick this kid up."

"Are you thinking about adding him to the team?"

"Yeah he-"

"Hope so. If he tests out okay I'll roll him in with the others." Stark nodded. "Plus if he's here training I can go hit on his aunt, she's... whoo."

"I am right here!"

"Stark." Steve rolled his eyes a little.

"He's pretty powerful, and he's young. Good ally to have on our side, don't you think?"

"I'd wanna see him in action before I'd let him on the team."

"That's what YouTube is for Cap, but if that's too new fangled for you just watch him some time."

"I'll have to do that. Kid got any other powers?"

"Screw this..." The spider child had been silent for a moment before he mumbled and swung away on a web. Bucky didn't pay attention until he heard the small animal barking from the rafters and he abruptly looked up.

The spider child was perched on a railing, and shot some web near the small animal, who from what he could tell looked pleased as it pounced on the small white shape. He looked back at Steve and Stark for a moment, and they were still talking about the child.

He climbed up the stairs and came over to where the spider child and the small animal were playing.

The small animal was very enthusiastic about the shots of web coming from the spider child's hands, and when he looked at them properly he could see small canisters that shot out controlled amounts of the substance.

He knelt down and rubbed the small animal's head. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

The small animal barked in reply and jumped on another pile of the webbing.

"Is he yours?" The spider child asked him, and he nodded. "He's cute. Got a name?"

"Its name is Steve, but you should call it something else. No one uses that. I call it small dog, Steve calls it little guy."

The spider child nodded. "Can I call him buddy?"

The small animal barked and jumped up at him, and the spider child got off of the railing to join Bucky on the floor of the rafters.

"It seems happy with that." Bucky nodded.

"Nice to meet you buddy." The spider child rubbed the small animal's head. "I'm Peter, Peter Parker." He offered Bucky his other hand to shake, the hand that required him to use his metal arm, and he hesitated. The spider child didn't seem intimidated by it though, so he slowly extended his hand.

"Bucky Barnes." They shook hands.

"I love that arm- Wait. You're Bucky Barnes? Wow, you look way different than your picture at the museum, I mean it's probably the long hair and the scruff, still looks good just way different. We went there on a field trip once, to the museum I mean. Wait aren't you dead?" The spider child, Peter, talked very fast.

"I was dead. Then they turned me into a weapon, then I got away. So now I'm alive again." He didn't want to scar the child with the details.

"Oh wow. That's awesome. I mean not the weapon part, and not the dying part, that probably hurt, but the cool part with you being alive again. That's so cool."

The spider child had a lot of energy, and some of it was rubbing off on Bucky a little. "It was very cool. They put me into cryosleep a lot."

"Did you just-?" The spider child grinned. "I like you, you're awesome, not like Mister Stark awesome where he's a super genius and rich and everything, you're just a cool person, and I get the feeling you probably don't talk to people a lot. At all. Maybe. I might just be projecting."

"No, I don't get out to talk to people much." Bucky assured him. "Just the small dog, Steve, Wanda. Rarely some others."

"Who's Wanda?" Peter asked curiously, and he thought of the best way to explain.

"My adopted sister."

"Oh that's cool. How old is she? Is she pretty? That's probably awkward if she's like your sister. Um... So, sports.. Ball... Things... Like the weather lately?" Bucky could tell the spider child had no experience talking to or about girls, and decided to move on to spare him some torment.

"The small dog seems to like you." He commented as he watched the small animal bounce between the two of them.

"Yeah I dog-sit sometimes. If the neighbours are taking a vacation or something. Dogs kinda like me, I dunno why. Might just be the whole Spidey sense thing, dogs kinda have that too. Or maybe I just smell good. Do you think I smell good buddy?" The spider child rubbed the small animal's head.

Bucky observed them for a moment, and started thinking.

It might work. The spider child had experience with dogs, and that was a flaw in his plan which could now be resolved, provided they had some more experience together, enough to trust him.

"I don't trust you yet." Bucky realized after he had spoken that this was probably a bad way to start a conversation, so he kept going. "But I think I might, at some point. And I need you for something, if I can trust you."

"You can totally trust me! I think, I mean I'm not sure what you want but I'll try. You're an Avenger, that's like the coolest job in the world."

Bucky couldn't help but smile briefly. "I'm not an Avenger yet. That's why I need you. I've asked to join the team and go on missions, but I can't bring the small dog with me. I was going to bring it and leave it on the jet, but that still poses a threat to its safety. If I can trust you, I want you to watch it for me while I'm gone, if Wanda and Steve aren't here, and most of my missions will likely be with them."

"Wow. You're trusting me with your dog?" The spider child was surprised and flattered, though Bucky could tell he didn't quite understand the gravity of the request for him.

"No. Not yet. I don't trust you. But you seem alright, and I might trust you soon. I've been very trusting lately. I didn't kill you when you dropped in front of me."

The spider child immediately looked a little intimidated. "Uh, thanks... Should I be worried? I mean, aunt May thinks I'm just chilling with Tony Stark for a bit, and being dead kinda puts a dent in my whole find-a-real-date-to-prom plan, and it'd bum my aunt out, so... Yeah..."

"What's going on up here?" Steve had arrived to investigate where Bucky had gone.

Bucky explained what had happened, with some interjections from the spider child. Steve questioned him a little, and Bucky discovered that anywhere possible the spider child interjected spider puns when talking about his powers. To his slight surprise, this amused him, though he could tell it would get annoying quickly with any kind of sustained contact.

Steve agreed that it was a good idea to cautiously interact with the spider child to see if he could be trusted, and then on missions leave the small animal in his care.

Stark eventually took the extremely excitable spider child for a trip to the lab where he worked, and Bucky and Steve trained for the rest of the day, stopping only when they were sore and tired and felt fairly fulfilled. And hungry, that was also an important factor in the decision to stop fighting.

The afternoon was spent watching war documentaries from the years after they had both died, and Bucky very cautiously let Steve braid his hair after multiple requests.

Once it was done he had to admit he didn't mind it. Surprisingly it felt kind of nice, and it was very practical for keeping his hair out of his face, though it wasn't as intimidating, so he probably wouldn't have it in as much for close combat.

Steve fell asleep on Bucky's shoulder that night, so Bucky reached behind him and grabbed a pillow before picking up the small animal and setting it in his lap and going to sleep right there with them both.

* * *

Hey! Hope you liked this chapter, I had fun with Spidey and as you can probably tell he might show up later for some dog-sitting fun times, so if you want more of him lemme know

If you liked it, lemme know, if you hated it, lemme know, if you have any questions, please lemme know, if you have suggestions, lemme know, and if you just wanna say something random, that's cool

I've introduced a lot of characters by now though, so I wanna know, who do you guys want to see more of, of the more side-type characters? Bruce, Vision, Sam, Spidey, Tony, Nat and/or Clint, or new characters (or just ones I'm forgetting)


	22. Chapter 22

So glad you guys liked the last chapter, so... here's this one! Actually on time for once! I'm trying to get better I swear

Couldn't take requests this time round because I needed to get this done for plot but don't worry, I have a couple blank spaces before and after the anniversary special (which won't be the one I planned, but don't worry there are hints for that one sprinkled throughout the chapters so stay tuned)

Enjoy!

* * *

Steve woke up when his phone rang the next morning, and stood up quickly.

After a minute and a half of one word answers that gave Bucky no information Steve hung up and looked back to where Bucky was just sitting back against the end of the bed.

"That was Sam. He's leaving now, he'll be here in about a half hour." Steve informed him, and he nodded.

"We should eat then?" Bucky guessed, and Steve nodded.

The small animal was still asleep so Bucky picked it up and carried it to the cafeteria.

It woke up a little once they arrived in the side room where they usually ate, and Bucky set it on the table next to his plate so it could eat some of his breakfast.

Steve abruptly looked up at the door, and Bucky turned quickly to see Sam slowly walking in.

"Hey guys."

"Sam, hey." Steve stood and shook his hand. "How've you been?"

"Busy." Sam shrugged a little. "Things have slowed down a bit now, maybe I'll get out with you guys soon."

"Hope so, you're a good team member."

Bucky watched them both, and he felt nerves starting to build inside of him. He wanted this to go well.

Sam looked over to him. "Hey."

Bucky slowly nodded. "Hi."

"Should I leave you two?" Steve looked between them.

"Are you comfortable talking here?" Sam asked him, and he looked around and assessed the room. It was fairly non-threatening, and he hadn't had any violent outbursts here.

He slowly nodded, and Sam sat down across from him at the high table.

"Let me know if you need anything Buck, okay? I'll try and stay nearby." Steve assured him.

"Thank you." Bucky nodded to him a little, and Steve left.

"I'm ready for my assessment." He informed Sam.

"You don't need to think of this as an assessment. I don't have a degree or anything, I just help people out with their trauma. This is just a chat about how you're doing."

Bucky slowly nodded, and caught the small animal as it jumped into his lap. He rubbed its head gently to steady himself.

"We'll start with that, how are you doing? Just in general?" Sam watched him.

He got the feeling today was going to involve a lot of pausing to think.

"Better, I think. I haven't broken as much recently. I feel a little more stable than I did when I arrived here. I've adapted to the environment."

"Have you talked to many people? When I left it had only been a few people." Sam seemed to genuinely care about his progress, at least so far, and it helped calm Bucky a little more. He had been expecting a military style interrogation.

"I've spoken to all of the Avengers on the compound, as well as you, Wanda, the Vision, the doctor, and two of the SHIELD recruits." Bucky listed off.

Sam nodded a little. "Have you met Thor yet?" His voice sounded more curious about this than like he was gathering information. Bucky shook his head and Sam nodded. "He's pretty busy on Asgard, he doesn't come down a whole lot, only if there's a big planetary threat. Sometimes."

Bucky nodded, and the small animal barked. He looked down and rubbed it gently. "What is it small dog?"

It ran in a small circle on his lap before trying to jump back up on the table, and he helped it up and gave it its ball to play with, which more than contented it.

"How are things with this little guy going?" Sam nodded to the small animal as they both watched it jump around its ball.

"They've been going well. It's a source of comfort for me, and it can tell when I'm upset so it does what it can to help. It doesn't leave my side." Bucky extended his hand to it, and it sniffed it a little. "I have made arrangements. Stark brought a spider child in to join the team, Peter, and he has experience with animals. If I start to trust him more, I'm thinking of leaving the small dog with him when I go on missions."

"That's a smart plan, and really good improvement. He's been really close to you, so I'm glad to see you're staring to be willing to let more people interact with him, up to trusting them with him alone." Sam seemed proud of him, and he absorbed that feeling for the moment it lasted. "What about the team, how have you been with them?"

Bucky tried to think of a way to explain his relationship with them all, and Sam could probably tell he was struggling.

"Why don't we just go through one at a time? Would that be better?"

Bucky nodded gratefully. "Alright."

"Okay, let's start with Clint Barton. How's your relationship with him?"

"It was alright. He seems to be a kind man, and he has a sense of humour that I like, but... I had a nightmare. He and Natasha were torturing Wanda, and she was screaming, and I..." He sighed. He didn't like remembering that night. "After that I haven't trusted him, or Natasha. I can't. I know it was just a dream, months ago, but I look at them and I see it again. It's starting to fade I think, maybe. I... I had a bad spell recently, a week ago, and I shut Steve and Wanda out and barricaded myself inside my room. I was grateful when Clint came and took Wanda away from my door, and then when I ran to help Wanda when she started screaming from a nightmare I didn't register Natasha as a threat. I haven't seen either of them since."

"It sounds like you're very protective then, of Wanda." Sam guessed, and Bucky nodded. "It does seem like you're starting to overcome your distrust of them, and it's okay if it takes some time. You're doing really well, for everything you've been through."

"Am I?" Bucky looked up at Sam properly. He didn't feel like he was doing well at all, if he was being honest with himself. Better perhaps, than he had been, but he wouldn't have used the word "well".

"I think you are. You're recognizing a lot of the problems you're having. You know that your mistrust of Clint and Natasha comes from a place of fear as opposed to being more logical. You know when you've hit a "bad spell" instead of trying to justify it. You're starting to trust more, a lot more. When I met you and this guy-" he nodded to the small animal "the nurse tried to move him and you almost killed her, and now you're considering trusting him with someone you've just met recently. That's a lot of progress. I've met veterans who haven't been able to get that far in a decade, and it hasn't been a year yet since we met."

"But is it enough? To let me out again, to work? To be useful?" Bucky wanted to know, now. They had only been talking for a few minutes, and he was already worried he had failed. Sam was proud of how far he had gotten, but he was proud of the small animal's progress and it was still nowhere near being a battle companion.

"Relax. So far, it looks like it is." Sam assured him. "And you are useful already. I know you want to get back to work with Steve, like the old days, but you don't need to just to be useful. I've seen the good you've done for Steve. He's really glad that he has you back."

Bucky smiled a little in surprise. He heard that from Steve a lot, and it made him feel good then, but to know that other people saw it too and Steve wasn't just lying to make him feel better, that felt even better.

"Your relationship with Steve seems pretty strong then." Sam looked at him to confirm, and Bucky nodded. "Alright. What about Tony Stark?"

Bucky thought about it very carefully, and managed to confuse himself looking back at their interactions. "I don't know. I hadn't really interacted with him since I arrived and offered to let him kill me, but when the spider child was introduced to us he didn't seem to hold any kind of animosity towards me."

Sam nodded. "That sounds like progress, in the right direction. That's a good sign. What about Doctor Banner?"

That was a much simpler relationship to explain. "We're both volatile, but I've been to his lab once and talked to him. He gave me a tablet. He seems decent enough, just very quiet."

Sam nodded. "He's a pretty self-contained guy, he doesn't really do people that much."

Bucky nodded in return. "I think they scare him."

"Do they scare you?"

That made Bucky pause. He didn't think so. Maybe? In some situations, but people could always be frightening. He might be overblowing it though?

"Some. Large groups I don't like. Civilians aren't so bad. The people here aren't as bad as it could be. I don't like professionals in white coats, or with guns. Some business people, if they seem... Bad. Sketchy. I don't know how to feel about children. I'm glad there are none around the compound. I don't know how to interact with them. Elders too, like Steve and I but if we looked our proper ages. I don't know whether or not I need to check if they're threats."

"That's normal, don't worry. It's standard PTSD behaviour. You see threats everywhere." Sam explained, and Bucky slowly nodded a little, thinking back to the Vision's arrival. "There are a few ways to deal with that, but the best one is just to slowly push outside of your comfort zone and interact with people. Sit on a bench and read a book in a crowded place, make yourself start a conversation with someone you meet. Start small, and it can go from there, at whatever pace you need it to in order to keep an even keel."

Bucky slowly nodded, and looked to the small animal. "What do you think? Does that sound like a good plan? Getting out more, talking to people, at least on better days?"

The small animal pounced on his hands with a contented bark and he smiled and rubbed its head.

"Yeah, you like that idea?"

It barked again and he kept rubbing its head.

"Mind if I grab a drink?" Sam gestured to the small fridge in the room, and Bucky could sense the conversation was over. Sam had made his assessment of Bucky, and would present those findings to the other Avengers upon the return of Clint and Natasha.

Sam got a bottle of water and did something on his phone, presumably notifying Steve that the conversation was finished seeing as Steve came in a moment later and sat down next to Bucky.

"How'd things go?" He looked between Bucky and Sam, and Sam looked to Bucky to answer first.

"I think they didn't go badly." Bucky didn't really know. Sam liked him, but he didn't know whether that meant he would join the Avengers or if Sam wanted him to improve more before he joined the team.

"We had a good chat. Bucky's pretty chill." Sam assured Steve.

Bucky assumed that was a compliment.

* * *

Thanks so much for reading guys, I really appreciate the love you guys give me

Make sure that if you have any questions about the canon or writing or whatever that you guys hit me up because I promise I will answer all of the questions I get (if I can)

Also favourite and follow and stuff if you want, that's a thing too, but like reviews man. Reviews.


	23. Chapter 23

Hey guys, I really wanted to post on time again, I have a really good chapter lined up for you guys, but I just don't have time, and it's not even because I'm busy, it's just like...  
I've been way too busy to create, and I find it really hard to concentrate, while I'm searching for another score, that surge of dopamine, when I come across some awesomesauce while I'm glued to my screen

I am A+ #1 100% youtube trash, so sorry

I'm also posting this in the seconds before lecture starts, so don't judge for rushed quality

This chapter was requested of me by DarylDixon'sLover (good username) so hope you like it!

* * *

The next day Steve and Sam were called in to train the SHIELD recruits. Bucky didn't mind, being near Sam set him on edge now that he didn't know which way Sam would vote, either for him joining the team or against it, but it meant he was spending the day alone aside from the small animal's company.

Bucky trained in his room that morning instead of going to the gym, seeing as there was really nothing there that he needed, and he just got breakfast from the stash he had hidden in his room.

He looked over to the small animal, who had been sitting on the bed watching him all morning. "What do you feel like doing today?"

It hopped down off the bed and barked at his feet before running in a small circle.

Bucky knelt down and rubbed its head. "I was thinking of visiting Bruce Banner today. I'm in a better mood than some days, and I do need to interact with the others more. What do you think?"

The small animal barked again and jumped at his chest, and he caught it in his arms with a bit of a smile.

"Is that a yes?" It replied by licking his face and he buried his face in its fur for a moment before getting up and walking down to Banner's lab.

He heard movement inside and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" To Bucky's surprise it was Stark who answered, and Bucky slowly came in, keeping the small animal up in his arms in case it decided to wander.

Stark appeared to be alone in the lab, working on a computer, with notes strewn around him.

Stark looked up and nodded to him. "Hey cyborg. Where's the valiant star spangled commander?"

Bucky stayed in the doorway, in case his welcome was contingent on Steve's presence. "He and Sam are training recruits today. Where is Doctor Banner?"

"Taking a sick day. He nearly blew up." The casual way Stark said it made it sound like a metaphor of some kind, but with the way things were around the compound he wasn't certain.

The small animal's head nudged his chest and he decided to ask. "Is he alright?"

Stark nodded and stood up, walking over to the table between them as he spoke. "He's fine, just blasting some tunes to calm down. You here looking for him?" Stark leaned on the table.

Bucky slowly nodded. "He said if I wasn't feeling as volatile I should come visit him. He's good at science, he was helping me catch up on what I missed."

Stark nodded. "Yeah, he said. Did you have any questions? I am kind of a genius." Stark dusted off his shoulder.

Bucky slowly shook his head. "Not in particular. I just thought I should come by."

The small animal jumped out of his arms to his surprise, luckily on to a counter nearby, and Stark quickly rushed forwards to move equipment out of its way. "Whoa Steve, I know you're curious but jeez, don't go putting your nose in this stuff."

Bucky picked it back up in his arms quickly. "Is there somewhere safer to set it, where it can't get into anything?"

"Yeah, um, over here should be okay." Stark moved some things and Bucky set the small animal up on the isolated desk.

Stark rubbed its head briefly. "How's that arm?" He nodded to Bucky's metal arm, and Bucky paused. No one ever talked about it, ever. It was an unspoken rule with Steve that he didn't mention it.

He didn't know what Stark was up to. "Why do you ask?"

"Everything mechanical needs maintenance, and I know captain paranoia isn't gonna talk about it. So between you and me, how is it?" He had apparently noticed the way Steve looked at it as well.

He didn't spend much time thinking about it, exactly for those reasons, so he took a second to flex it a little and see how it felt.

"It's a little slow, in responding to me. Not much, I can still fight, but enough to notice."

He was surprised when Stark looked delighted. "Mind if I take a look? This thing looks way out of my range, and I've been itching to crack a look at it."

"Um… Alright, I suppose…" He hadn't meant to sound so indecisive, but Stark didn't seem to notice or care and brought him over a tall chair. He sat down as Stark assembled some tools and came back, and he rubbed the small animal's head with his real hand as Stark scanned his metal arm. He saw the wiring and mechanics inside come up on a screen next to them, and he had to admit it looked interesting on the inside.

Stark apparently thought so too because he pulled it off the screen and into the air as some kind of hologram right out of Star Wars, which Steve had introduced to him as some kind of cultural milestone.

The hologram spun slowly in front of them, and Stark whistled. "You got this in the what, 50s?"

Bucky shrugged a little. "Time is hard for me. I was only awake for a few months of time, I don't know when things happened. The arm did come early though."

"This is some amazing tech. I couldn't make this on my own, and I'm sort of the best." Stark was enthusiastic.

"Do you know how to fix it?" Bucky asked him.

Stark zoomed in on his arm and looked it over. "I think so, but I'll need to get inside."

He looked to the small animal worriedly. He wasn't sure he wanted Stark touching the internal wiring of the weapon attached to body.

The small animal looked happy though, and barked in Stark's direction, and Bucky decided to trust its judgement. "Just be careful."

"Of course." Stark rubbed his hands together and got to work.

Bucky kept his real hand buried in the small animal's fur to keep calm as Stark got a panel of his arm lifted and started working, but it didn't hurt him too badly and Stark seemed to know his way around.

The silence was broken after a fairly long time. "Whose idea was the concert?"

Bucky assumed the concert he and Wanda had gotten him a ticket to. "Mostly Wanda's."

Stark nodded a little. "It was good, those kids are gonna go far." He chuckled a little. "I went backstage after the concert, they were psyched."

Bucky nodded a little.

"You catching up on all the music you missed?" Stark kept digging around in his arm.

He had been, slowly. "Yes. I've been trying to do it chronologically, I've finished the 1970s now I think."

Stark grinned a little. "How'd you find the Jackson 5, Beatles era?"

"Odd. I don't remember much music, but… I don't remember it being quite this strange." He considered this to probably be safe ground to discuss with Stark, as he seemed to be a fan of music.

"Yeah no the 70s were weird. Don't worry, it only gets weirder- ah! Got it! Careful, this will either shut down your arm or fix it." Stark had apparently found the source of his problems with the arm.

Bucky tensed, and Stark did something to his arm.

"Try moving it?" Stark nodded to him, and he tried to lift it.

With no luck.

"It won't move." Bucky didn't like this, and he started doubting his decision to let Stark touch it.

"Don't worry, I can fix it!" Stark didn't seem too put out and got back to work right away.

Bucky kept his hand on the small animal for comfort's sake.

"So you want to join the team?" Stark made more conversation.

Bucky would have simply nodded, but Stark's eyes were focused on his arm. "Yes, if I can."

"Why? Just miss the action?" Stark was trying to get information from him. He wasn't bad at it, but Bucky had plenty of experience with it. Fortunately it was information he was hesitantly willing to discuss with Stark anyway.

"I want to be useful. I've been a weight too long."

"You really think you're ready?" He could tell instantly that Stark didn't approve.

"You think I'm not?" He didn't want this to come to a confrontation, not while he was weak.

"I think you're a wild card. Like me, except I've never nearly murdered my best friend."

Bucky didn't like where this was going.

"That wasn't me. That wasn't my choice. That was Hydra, getting in my head."

"Who's to say they aren't still there?" Tony looked up at him, and he was surprised that Stark's face read less accusatory and more curio us, though he could see Stark trying to mask it.

"They aren't. Not anymore. My head is my own." His voice came out flat and direct, and he and Stark stared each other down for a moment.

They both looked to his arm when the small animal started climbing it in an attempt to get to Bucky's face, and Bucky went to pick it up when he remembered his arm no longer worked. That prompted Stark to get back to fixing it while Bucky managed to nudge the small animal back on to the table so he could rub it gently.

"You don't need to climb me small dog, you can just talk to me when you need my attention. Alright?" He rubbed behind its ears and it barked in reply.

He felt Stark give him a strange look for a moment but ignored it.

A moment later he felt a jolt of intense pain run into him from the metal arm and tensed to try and bear it.

"What'd I do?" Stark immediately pulled his tools out.

Bucky realized as he was tensing that he had regained control of the arm, and the pain started to fade.

"Hydra… my pain was no concern to them. They took no precautions to keep the arm from hurting me. I just… adapted. I have it back now." He flexed his fingers a little to demonstrate that to Stark, and he nodded a little, though he looked off-put by what Bucky had said.

There was a moment of silence before Bucky looked up. He could feel… something.

"Do you know when Steve was going to finish training the recruits?"

Tony looked to a clock. "About ten minutes ago. Why?"

Bucky got up and helped the small animal off its table before walking out of the lab to look for Steve. Tony followed them curiously.

He found Steve talking earnestly to two younger recruits, who had suspiciously mischievous looks on their faces.

"- most important part of a functioning democratic society!"

"Steve, what's going on?" Bucky had a hunch, but he needed Steve to confirm it.

"These recruits just told me they skip out on paying their taxes because it doesn't do anything." This again. Bucky remembered this discussion coming up in school, and Steve had been just as earnest then.

The recruits smirked at each other and Bucky just grabbed Steve's arm and led him away. It was the only way he'd learned to get Steve out of these arguments.

"They're just getting you riled up Steve."

Stark was standing by, and apparently found the whole thing quite amusing to watch.

He got Steve far enough down the hall that they couldn't see the recruits anymore and Steve dusted himself off. "Thanks Buck."

Bucky nodded in reply.

"You two coming to the party on Saturday?" Stark asked as he walked by to return to the lab. "Booze, music, revelry. Should be fun."

Steve nodded and looked to Bucky. "Whaddya say Buck? You can leave if you get uncomfortable."

Bucky considered it. One the one hand, it wasn't a bad idea to try and go to a party. On the other hand, it was a terrible idea.

"I'll come." Bucky slowly nodded, and Stark made some hand motion at them both and clicked his tongue.

"See you both there dinosaurs."

* * *

Hey guys, I hope you liked it

As always, please feel free to leave me whatever sort of reviews you like, and favourite and follow

I swear I'm gonna get back on schedule


	24. Chapter 24

I'm posting on time again! Now that I'm getting back into a routine this should be a more common occurrence, so keep your fingers crossed

To give you guys an idea of how long this chapter has been brewing, I came up with the basics of it at the same time I was trying to figure out how to split up one big chunk of text into the second, third, and fourth chapters. It feels kind of appropriate to use it to segue into the anniversary special.

So without further ado, here it is.

* * *

Bucky wasn't comfortable.

He didn't like large groups of people, and despite the fact that he was surrounded by people who had trained for years in combat, or at least self defense, he knew that the room could hold an infinite variety of threats. Poison in the alcohol or food, code words to prompt an attack hidden in the music, weapons or explosives hidden under furniture or in people's clothing.

He couldn't exactly complain about that. He had knives hidden in both of his pockets, but it was the only way he felt comfortable coming to this party at all.

Nevertheless he did have to admit, it was a very good party from what he remembered. People were laughing, drinks were pouring, and the music was loud.

He pulled at the collar of his shirt a little and looked down at his feet where the small animal would be if he had brought it with him. He regretted the decision not to, but he and Steve had agreed that it would be best to leave it in his room. He looked back up and scanned the room.

Steve was talking to Sam and some fellow war veterans that had come, Wanda and the Vision were with Clint and another woman on his arm, possibly someone from the mission they had returned from the day before. Natasha was behind the bar at the moment, though she hadn't been originally, talking to Stark and some colleague he had invited. Banner was talking to a group of people off to one side that seemed fairly amicable, and he assumed they were colleagues as well. The spider child was there as well, talking to the man Steve had called Ant-Man, as well as a few other of the younger recruits from the compound. Everyone was in fairly formal clothing, dresses and suits, though none of the dresses reached the floor and some men- including Bucky- had left off the suit jacket. He had one in his closet with the black dress pants and shirt, but it felt tight over his shoulders and he knew he would destroy it if he had to fight.

He and Steve had arrived to the party relatively late, so the room had already been full when he arrived. He had stayed by Steve's side for a while before working up the energy to get a drink on his own in this crowd. By the time he had gotten it his social energy had been nearly spent and the corner he found himself in now was closer than Steve or Wanda.

He had been trying to work up the energy to properly socialize with people, the way he had before the war, but he had too many nerves and he had an instinct that today was not a good day for him to try.

He knew he was attracting some stares from the other people at the party, the ones that didn't know him, and decided that he was only making himself and others uncomfortable by staying. Sam's advice would have to wait for another day.

He slipped out of the room and took a few deep breaths as he walked down the hall. His plan for the evening had depended on his mind cooperating with him and letting him interact with people today, and with that not happening he needed a new plan.

He went to his room, and was promptly greeted by the small animal jumping at his legs barking happily.

He smiled and knelt down. "Hello. Did you miss me small dog?" He rubbed its head, and it kept barking and jumping at him excitedly.

"You have so much energy." The small animal's energy was infectious, and while he didn't feel like returning to the party he did feel like expending that energy somewhere. "Do you feel like training tonight?"

The small animal kept barking so he rubbed its head a little more before standing. "Alright, we'll go to the gym in a minute."

He took off his shirt, considering it far too formal to train in, and tied his hair back with one of the elastics Wanda had forgotten in his room. He grabbed the small animal's ball and opened the door for it, and it promptly bounded out a few feet ahead of him, running in excited circles.

He led it to the gym and tossed the ball at one of the targets, something they often did to combine the small animal's exercise with some training for Bucky. It bounced off the center and the small animal ran after it, jumping up to catch it once it had bounced off the floor and running back to deliver it to Bucky.

He knelt down to take it and threw it again, watching contentedly as the small animal ran to catch it before it could hit the target.

This felt natural now, possibly the most natural he had felt in a long time. This was a moment when he could understand why Sam said he had made progress. When he had found the small animal, he had wanted nothing to do with it when it began following him, now it made him smile consistently and felt as natural as having two feet or one arm did.

He kept throwing the ball at targets around the room, occasionally angling it to hit two in a row. The small animal ran after them excitedly, and actually managed to catch some before they hit the targets, though only just.

He heard movement behind him as he went to throw the ball again, and whipped it behind him, aiming at the head of whoever had arrived.

Wanda caught it in the air with her mist just before it hit her and he held his hand out for it. She let it drop into her hand and tossed it back to him, and he threw it at another target. The small animal leapt after it as Wanda came to his side.

"Too many people at the party?" She guessed his reason for leaving, and he nodded. She nodded in return. "I got bored and couldn't find you."

"The Vision couldn't keep your attention?" He was a little surprised, she had clung to his side for the entire time he had been there.

"Stark wanted to talk to him about something." She explained, and he nodded a little.

The small animal returned with the ball and he let Wanda kneel down and take it to throw across the room.

They watched it run after the ball contentedly.

"He seems happy." Wanda noted. Bucky nodded a little.

The ball was returned to them in the small animal's mouth and Bucky knelt down and rubbed its head before taking the ball and throwing it again.

The small animal leapt up as it bounced off the target and caught it in its mouth.

They repeated this for some time. The small animal would only rarely catch the ball before it hit the target, but when it did it received extra affection from Wanda as reward.

Wanda stayed sat on the floor next to him as he turned around the room throwing the ball around.

No one talked, except to the small animal, who barked happily whenever it received affection from himself and Wanda.

The small animal leapt up again to catch the ball shortly after it bounced off the target as someone else walked into the gym, and he turned as the small animal ran up.

"He's getting better." Steve noted as he came to Bucky's side. "Party too crowded for you?"

Bucky nodded a little. "I wanted to be more comfortable. I couldn't be comfortable there tonight."

"Is that why your shirt is missing?" Steve looked to his chest, avoiding the seam between it and the arm, and he nodded a little.

"It was too formal for training."

Steve nodded in agreement and knelt to rub the small animal's head and throw the ball for it, and it ran away happily. Steve wanted to say something, he could tell, but he was waiting for the right moment, and Bucky let him judge when that would be.

"Was it just something about today, or the party?" Steve asked him as he stood back up.

"I'm not sure. I think it was simply today. I could tell it was a good party, I just… Couldn't get into it. You know?" He looked over at Steve, who nodded.

"That'll happen to me sometimes too. I'll try to get into one of Stark's parties, relax, loosen up, but I just can't quite get there."

Bucky was surprised Steve understood that. He always thought that Steve had come out of the war untouched, but maybe he had a little of the same trauma Bucky did, on one level at any rate.

The thought made him curiously pleased, not that Steve had been hurt but that Bucky was recovering to a level where his problems were those someone like Steve could also face.

He watched Steve kneel down next to Wanda and take the ball from the small animal's mouth as Wanda rubbed its head and encouraged it, both of them smiling, and the small animal barking happily.

Family.

That was the word that sprung to his mind, unbidden. It brought up memories of his family, a mother and a father and a sister and Steve. Being a child, growing up with people who loved him, and that he loved.

He was an adult now, he had done his growing. But here he was, all this time and pain later with people who loved him again. Steve was still here, and now he had the small animal and Wanda with him as well.

They were all on the ground, kneeling, running in circles, and sitting, respectively. Steve and Wanda had given up on aiming the ball at targets and were just tossing it between each other, watching the small animal jump up to try to catch it. It jumped into Wanda's lap as she caught the ball and she laughed a little. Steve smiled as well, and Bucky felt that word swell up again. Family.

He knelt next to Steve and looked between him and Wanda.

"Thank you. All three of you. For being here, when you didn't have to be." He said it softly, and he wasn't certain until they reacted whether or not they had heard him.

Steve put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Nowhere I'd rather be Buck."

He could tell both Steve and Wanda had inferred what had been going on in his head before he spoke, and he was grateful that they knew him this well.

The small animal jumped into his lap and started to lick his face and he couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"This is so sweet! Remind me to go through the security footage later to get evidence of this whenever you try to act all tough on the recruits." Stark walked in with his usual confident swagger, and they all looked up. "You left the party early." Stark noted with a gesture to Bucky.

"Too formal." Bucky explained in short form. Stark didn't need the long version.

"It's a shame you left. We really missed you when we got up to make the announcement." Stark took a drink from the glass he'd brought with him.

Bucky looked between Stark and Steve, and saw the same look from when Steve had walked into the gym.

He looked back up at Stark. "What announcement?"

* * *

And that's a wrap! Next chapter coming soon, and stay tuned because I have both requested chapters coming and some ideas of my own I'm really excited about

Happy 25th next week (this story was only supposed to be two chapters long), but let me know if you guys want to see anything coming up because I still have room in my schedule for a ton of request chapters, some of my ideas need a really long burn to get to

And also just, you know, lemme know what you thought of the chapter, I love getting feedback from you guys about what you did or didn't like about the chapters


	25. Chapter 25

Happy 25th! If you'd told me that I'd reach the big 2-5 and still have more chapters coming when I had this idea, I would've said a great many things I cannot say due to the story rating, but all of them would have meant the same thing: "No way." And yet here I am, with way more ideas and requests for chapters ahead

And I'm actually posting on time! I know, what a shock. Now that I'm back on schedule I should be posting regularly from now on

Special thanks for this chapter goes to everyone who's been reading and reviewing so far, I wouldn't have done this without your support

* * *

"You, cyborg, are now an official part of the team." Stark grinned.

Bucky paused. He had to have heard wrong. "What?" He looked to Steve.

"We made the announcement after you left. We didn't know you'd gone yet. Congrats Buck." Steve smiled.

Bucky let that sink in. He was an Avenger? No, not quite. He was going to be a part of the team, but he wasn't an Avenger yet. That would require saving the world. A feat he could only see himself accomplishing with Steve by his side.

"We've got a mission in a couple days. You, me, and Clint. We found a Hydra cell in Hungary, it's small but we need to take them out, they've already started trying to recruit locals." Steve added, shaking Bucky from his contemplation.

Bucky slowly felt it sink in. This was happening.

Wanda looked extraordinarily confused and he shrugged a little with a little bit of a smile. "Surprise?"

She smiled and hugged him, and he hugged her back. "When were you going to tell me you were going to be on the team?"

"When I made it, about a minute ago."

"Congratulations!" She was very happy for him, and he smiled a little and hugged her tighter.

This felt good.

He spent the next two days preparing for the mission. Reading the files, training, arranging the care of the small animal. He left it with Wanda, and asked her to interact with the spider child if he came by, to study his interaction with the small animal to help see if he could care for it or not when they were all on missions.

She accepted that request with a salute and a grin, and he instinctively saluted her in return, prompting Steve to grin widely. He wasn't sure why that made Steve happy, but he made note of it for later.

They left late at night to fly to Hungary through the night so the mission could wrap as quickly as possible. The small animal was safely asleep, right next to an also-sleeping Wanda, so he just got on the plane with his gear and headed out.

He and Clint managed to sleep on the plane for short periods, but Steve didn't sleep. He wouldn't sometimes, if he was nervous for a mission, and when Clint took over flying as they got closer Bucky put his hand on Steve's shoulder gently to reassure him, and he could feel Steve relax a little.

Clint landed the plane outside of the city and they walked in from there, getting a room at the hotel across from the bar that the Hydra lackeys had been seen trying to recruit in.

Bucky kept watch first, and around noon he spotted one of them going in.

"Steve, Clint." He alerted them, and they came over and looked.

"Yep, that's one of our guys. Good eye." Steve nodded to him.

"Should I get a gun now or later?" He offered. He wasn't entirely sure if he was here for combat or stealth, they hadn't fully explained that to him, and he guessed it was because they weren't sure themselves.

"Later. There's gotta be a bigger fish, we just need to follow this guy to catch him." Clint theorized, and Bucky nodded and went back to watching out the window while Clint and Steve prepped their gear.

He and Clint swapped places so Bucky could arm up, and he put guns and knives everywhere he could fit them.

"We have movement guys. Time to head out." Clint alerted them from the window as he stood, and Bucky looked to Steve.

Steve nodded. "Let's go."

They left the hotel and fanned out to follow their target, Clint trailing him the closest, Bucky following from a bit more of a distance, and Steve behind him watching out for ambush.

Their target didn't fail them, and they were led to a warehouse on the other side of town. They reunited behind the fence, looking in. There didn't appear to be anyone there, but they could see movement behind the high windows.

They moved in slowly and stealthily, and snuck into the building. They had made it in about halfway, past the point of retreat, when their target turned and spotted them. Steve instantly raised his shield to deflect the bullets aimed their way, and Clint and Bucky both loaded up and started taking out the shooters. Having to do that bought Hydra enough time to scramble together some ground forces, and Steve tossed his shield up to quickly take out the last of the shooters so they could focus on fighting.

Bucky could feel his senses sharpening in the heat of the battle, which was how he knew he had gotten separated from Steve and Clint in the fight. There were just too many soldiers for them not to get split.

It didn't become a problem until Bucky saw a face. A very specific face, a face that belonged to his nightmares.

One of the guards that had tied him down to that chair and beaten him while they waited for Bucky's handlers to arrive.

His mind froze. He hadn't been prepared to face it so suddenly, on his first mission. Everything came back to him, every ounce of pain, and he started to panic.

He ran and took shelter behind a stack of crates and collapsed to the ground with his head in his hands, breathing shakily to try and keep himself grounded.

He knew he was in trouble when he didn't even hear movement next to him through his panicked breathing.

"Bucky?"

Bucky instantly pulled a knife, and nearly slit Clint's throat before he realized that it wasn't a threat.

"Bucky it's just me. Calm down. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Bucky slowly lowered the knife, but his heart rate didn't decrease, nor did the speed of his panicked breathing.

Clint knelt in front of him. "Bucky what's going on? We need you in there."

He managed to gasp a few words out. "I know one. Hydra. The chair."

That was apparently enough for Clint to understand. "He can only hurt you as much as you let him."

Bucky shook his head quickly. "No, no I can't do this. I can't."

"Okay. If you can't do it, you can go back to the plane and sit this one out, and we'll wait a bit before we bring you out on another mission. But you convinced us you were ready for this, and I think you can do it. And so does Steve. I don't think you'll let us down." Clint offered him his hand, and he saw the choice that lay in front of him.

He could rejoin the fight, and face what he was afraid of, or he could stay here and feel safe, but let down Steve and Clint.

He took Clint's hand, and Clint grinned and helped him get to his feet.

"Someone really needs to get me on the battle pep talk committee." Clint commented before leading Bucky back in to the fight.

Steve was holding his own, but couldn't for much longer, and they dove back into the fray to relieve the pressure on him. Bucky was a few feet from Steve when he saw the man from the chair behind Steve, with a knife raised, and everything stopped.

The edges of his vision sharpened and his mind slipped into a calculating rhythm that looked for each and every way Bucky could kill this man.

He found the most efficient, a shot to the throat, and took it, and he could sense the shift in atmosphere around the room. They had realized who he was, and what he would do to them.

The calculation didn't stop, and his face settled into cold mask as he ripped through the Hydra soldiers. He could vaguely sense Steve and Clint fighting with him, but his attention was entirely on making sure each and every soldier here was dead on the floor.

He killed the last one and slowly the battle faded off of him, leaving him breathing gently looking down at the men on the floor. Most were just unconscious thanks to Steve and Clint, but he had amassed a decent body count.

"Bucky?" Steve asked quietly behind him, and he slowly turned. "What just happened?"

"We won the fight." Bucky summed up simply.

"No, you… You killed them Buck. Like it was nothing." Steve didn't seem to be specifically judging him, but he did look concerned.

"Take it easy Cap. He knew one of these guys. Not happy memories." Clint muttered quietly behind Steve.

"He was about to kill you." Bucky added in explanation. "I killed him first."

"Thank you, but Bucky I saw your face, you were… you were the Winter Soldier again, you weren't Bucky." So that's what Steve was worried about.

Bucky shook his head. "The Winter Soldier was a weapon for Hydra. I heard my mission, I completed it, I slept. I was protecting you, and I knew I was fighting with you. That wasn't the Soldier. That was me."

In all honesty he didn't know whether the Soldier had come out or not. It didn't feel the same, but it didn't feel the same as when he had been a soldier in the army either. If anything, it was somewhere in between.

"You did good Bucky." Clint nodded to him, and he nodded thanks to him for his assistance.

Steve took a breath. "Alright, Clint call the local police, get these guys brought in. I'll start up the plane. Buck, with me." Steve settled into giving orders, and both he and Clint nodded and followed them.

He got back on the plane with Steve and once they had put their weapons away he put a hand on Steve's arm gently, and Steve turned to look at him.

"I know you're worried about me Steve. But I think I'm alright." He assured Steve gently.

"Okay." Steve nodded a little. "Promise you'll tell me if you start having problems?"

"Yes sir." The phrasing made Steve smile a little, and they both sat back.

Bucky tried to push his hair away from his face, and after a moment he and Steve came to a silent agreement. Bucky shifted so his back was to Steve and he let Steve start braiding his hair.

Clint walked on to the plane and gave them an odd look, but didn't comment. "Police were called, they got to the scene and arrested the survivors. Apparently they've been trying to arrest these guys for a while, and just had nothing to bust them on."

Steve nodded behind him and Clint went to fly the plane.

After an hour Bucky realized that Steve had been continuously braiding and unbraiding his hair again. He didn't mind, it seemed to be keeping Steve calm, and it was certainly helping Bucky in that regard.

It felt so calming that Bucky didn't even notice himself falling back against Steve and going to sleep.

* * *

And that's a wrap on chapter 25 folks

Bucky's really come a long way since the first chapter, but like he hasn't really changed at all either, it's wonderful to try to write

As always, please feel free to leave me a review, I will answer questions and I love getting feedback

Also I recently remembered some very important information last chapter regarding a certain Barnes, so look forward to the spawn of that idea in coming chapters (right after Natasha gets a bit of a spotlight from me - stay tuned)


	26. Chapter 26

I'm late again. Really, really late. I don't even have an excuse, I just didn't get anything written. I could barely even get the energy to get up most days, but I've been sick a lot, so that might be why.

Primereader suggested this to me a while back and I'd been sitting on it, trying to figure out a good time, and I thought "well hey, why not right before Bucky ****** *******?"

Thanks to you for the idea, and thanks to anyone who's still reading this after the massive delay. I'm gonna try and get another chapter up soon, but if you guys couldn't tell by now I probably won't be sticking to the Wednesday schedule anymore

Sorry for the break, I hope you guys like what I've got

* * *

The small animal and Wanda were on the roof waiting for him when they got home, and he smiled a little as both of them pounced on him, Wanda asking him about the mission and the small animal barking happily.

It ran in circles around his legs as they went in with Steve and Clint, and they recounted the basic details of the mission to Wanda, though Clint and Steve took over the conversation quickly towards the end and glossed over how much damage he had done to Hydra's ranks.

They arrived in the late afternoon, and he spent the night with her and the Vision, with the small animal running between them as they rolled a ball across her floor, where they sat cross legged or knelt in an informal triangle.

The Vision left first, when Stark called him, and soon after that Wanda got tired so he tucked her into bed gently.

"Bucky?" She asked softly, and he looked up at her.

"Yes?"

"Did the mission go well?" So she had caught on to the missing information from Steve and Clint's reports.

He nodded a little. "We succeeded in our mission. Steve and Clint are having some apprehensions because I killed 19 of Hydra's soldiers."

"What?" Wanda sat up. "Bucky…"

"I knew one of them." He admitted. "He hurt me. And he was about to kill Steve. So I took care of it."

"Along with 18 others?" She was agitated.

"They would all have killed us if given the opportunity. I wasn't going to give it to them. Steve and Clint left more than enough alive for the authorities to deal with."

She sighed softly and hugged him, and he hugged her back gently.

"Take a few days off, to calm down?" She asked him softly.

He slowly nodded. "Alright, if you think I need to." She nodded and he let go of her. "Get some sleep."

She laid back and he tucked her in again before leading the small animal out and going to bed himself.

He spent the next few days calming down like she had requested, and going through his schedule, which he found was being abandoned more and more frequently.

The afternoons and evenings were spent either with Wanda or Steve, dependent on if the Vision was already with Wanda or not. He had seen the faces they made when the other wasn't paying attention, and elected to give them a little space to figure out their feelings for themselves.

They were simultaneously about to get both much more and much less time with each other, as Natasha was going to take them both out on another mission four days after his return.

Bucky and the small animal saw them off the afternoon they left, and he and Wanda hugged each other tightly before she went.

The next day he simply felt remarkably bored. He and Steve sat back in Steve's room, and after about an hour of comfortable silence, broken only by the movement of Steve's drawing pencils, Bucky spoke up.

"We should go out."

Steve looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"To a place, off the compound. I didn't mean like on a date." He teased Steve a little.

Steve rolled his eyes and set his sketchbook aside. "Where's this coming from?"

"I'm bored, and Sam said to get out more, in public. Get comfortable with crowds."

"How about Central Park? It's nice outside, and the little guy might appreciate the grass and fresh air."

Bucky looked down at the small animal, who was curled up in his lap. "What do you think small dog? Want to get out, go to the park?"

The small animal quickly got to its feet and barked excitedly, and Steve laughed a little. "I think that's a yes."

They got ball caps and sunglasses and a hoodie to hide Bucky's arm and got in a car to leave. Bucky could've sworn he saw Steve breaking into it as he walked into the garage, but Steve assured him that no, he was just borrowing the car from Stark since it wouldn't be safe for the small animal on their motorcycles.

They found parking fairly close to the park miraculously, and Bucky carried the small animal in until they got to the grass.

He had brought the ball, and gave it a gentle throw across the open space, and the small animal quickly ran after it, barking happily.

"Feeling alright Buck?" Steve asked from his side, and he slowly nodded. He was keeping his attention on the things that weren't a threat. The sun, the clouds, the grass under his shoes. "Okay. I'm gonna do a lap around the park I think, I've got my phone if you need me. Okay?"

Bucky nodded and knelt down to collect the ball from the returning small animal, rubbing its head before throwing the ball again.

This happened a few more times before a young woman approached him, as he was standing from rubbing the small animal's head and taking its ball.

"Is that one yours?" She indicated the small animal with her hand, and he presumed she was asking if it was accompanying him and nodded.

"He's with me."

"Can I pet him?" She started to kneel, and he nodded again. The small animal seemed very content with the attention and barked happily.

She smiled and looked up at Bucky. "What's his name?"

"Steve." He replied slowly, unsure of how much conversation this woman would require. He could at least tell from her exercise clothing that she wasn't carrying a weapon.

"Hi Steve. You're a happy little one aren't you?" She looked back down at the small animal and kept rubbing its head.

Bucky decided to try Sam's advice. Talking to people.

This wasn't going to be fun.

"My name is James." He introduced himself.

She looked up at him with a smile. "Amanda. Hi."

"Hi." He nodded awkwardly.

"How old's Steve?" She thankfully looked back down at the small animal, taking some of the pressure off of him.

"I think he's a year old. That's how long I've had him, and he was only very young when I found him on the street." He explained. He didn't quite understand the cooing noise she made.

"You rescued him? That's so sweet."

"I didn't so much rescue him. I would say more we rescued each other." He clarified truthfully.

She beamed up at him. "That is amazing."

He didn't really know how to respond to that so he knelt and rubbed the small animal's head gently. "Do you have a dog?"

She shook her head. "My apartment doesn't let you have them. I had a pug when I was a kid though, her name was Sandy. My older sister really liked Grease."

He had no idea what sand and grease had to do with one another, but the way she said implied that this most likely made sense to most people so he just let it be and nodded quietly.

"Do you live around here James?"

He didn't really know how to answer that, but decided that as he lived with the Avengers it might be best to lie.

"No, I'm visiting. From… Canada."

"Oh okay. That's cool." She kept rubbing the small animal gently. He nodded a little.

"Do you? Live around here I mean." He cringed internally at his awkwardness, which could easily rival Steve's at certain points.

"Yeah. I work there. I'm a law associate." She indicated a large office building, one that had been standing since before his time.

Bucky saw Steve coming, and saw Steve analyze the situation and opt not to approach Bucky and this Amanda, instead starting a conversation with an old man on a bench.

"Is it fulfilling?" He didn't quite know what conversation to make with this woman, but he did his best.

She nodded. "A lot of grind work for now, but it's one of the best firms in the city. I'll make it big some day."

He nodded back a little.

"What about you? What do you do?" She looked up at him.

"I'm… a government contractor." It hurt him to pull the words from his memory of jobs his handlers had covered themselves with, but he couldn't remember anything else.

"That must be fun. Do you get to do anything exciting?" She smiled.

He lied again. "No. It's all paper work."

She nodded a little, and he heard a vibration coming from her thigh.

She removed her phone from the strap on her leg and looked at the screen. "Sorry, my boss needs me to come in. Emergency."

"Good luck." He figured this was a standard response, and it seemed to be since she accepted it with a nod.

"Thanks. You have a good time in New York." She rubbed the small animal's head a little more before getting up and jogging away.

"Goodbye." He called after her, unsure exactly why he was smiling.

She looked back and waved, and the small animal barked contentedly.

He looked back down at it. "Did you like her small dog?"

It barked again and picked up its ball again before depositing it next to Bucky's leg. He picked it up and threw it, and it wasn't until the small animal was running that he realized he'd done so with his metal arm.

He looked around quickly, but no one seemed to have noticed or cared so he didn't put his hand back in his pocket, and after a moment took off his hoodie. It had been fairly warm anyway.

He had thrown the ball again when he heard a loud gasp nearby, and he looked next to him to see a small male child staring at his arm fairly close by.

"Wowee mister! Is that your real arm?" The child approached him quickly, unnerving him, and it took all the patience he had in him not to run.

He slowly shook his head. "It's metal. Prosthetic."

"That's so cool! Can I touch it?" The kid beamed, and he slowly nodded and knelt down so the child could reach it, and he approached cautiously and poked it before laughing. "That's so neat!"

He was very uncomfortable with this child, but luckily his brain was still working well enough to formulate a plan.

"You want to know something neater?" He offered, and the child quickly nodded.

He leaned in a little like he was telling the child a secret and pointed to Steve. "That's Captain America."

"Really?" The child's jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide, and Bucky nodded. The child immediately ran away from him and launched himself in Steve's direction, and Bucky smiled a little when Steve put together what had happened and gave Bucky a slightly irritated look.

Luckily for Steve, the child's father presumably came over and led him away, and Steve came over to him.

"Thanks Buck." He said dryly, and Bucky shrugged.

"He was bugging me. You always handled kids who bugged you pretty well, on that tour you did."

Steve laughed a little. "I'd almost forgotten about those days. Dark times…"

Bucky remembered something and couldn't help but grin. He had teased Steve about it before, but it had been about 70 years after all. "How did that song go?"

"Oh god not this again." Steve rubbed his face in one hand, and Bucky laughed a little and rubbed the small animal's head as it ran back.

He started humming it to try and get the tune right, and Steve groaned. Bucky took that as a sign he'd gotten it right and smiled as he picked up the small animal kept humming it.

The small animal barked happily in his arms and pawed at his chest and face and Bucky rubbed it gently with a smile.

He was very aware of Steve watching them both with a smile of his own, but neither commented.

"Let's grab a bite and head back." Steve suggested.

They did indeed grab a bite, several bites in fact, from an elderly Indian man's food stand on the street, and drove back to the compound and watched a movie series together.

Normally Bucky curled up in Steve's arms to relax, but remembering Steve's idiotic-seeming theme song had put him in a nostalgic mood and so Steve was leaning on him tonight, sketchbook in hand, drawing the park from earlier.

Bucky was sitting back watching the movie, rubbing the small animal's head gently to lull it to sleep as it got later and later.

The second movie finished, and Bucky looked at the time.

"It's so late. These movies are really long."

"According to Stark there are shorter versions, but when I asked about getting them he said they were garbage and wouldn't let me." Steve shrugged. Bucky accepted that with a nod. "You thinking of crashing?"

"Yeah. The small dog's already passed out. I should probably join it."

Steve nodded a little and sat up to let Bucky get up, and he picked up the small animal gently.

"Night Buck." Steve waved.

"Night Steve."

* * *

Hey! I hope you liked that chapter.

Hint for next chapter, for whenever I get that written: one of those bleeped words from the a.n. up top is Nat. The other one might make a few people in my comments very happy.

Leave reviews, they're the reason I write at all for you guys, being able to see that I got to make someone happy for a little while. And also questions, I'll gladly delve into lore with you if you want, for this story or the movies, either or.


	27. Chapter 27

Hey guys. So... since I was so late posting the last chapter, I decided to try and give you guys a bit of a present to say I'm sorry. How does two chapters in 24 hours sound?

That and I just really enjoy the content of this chapter, and I think you will too, and I didn't want to sit on it for a week waiting for time to pass since the last one

For anyone that ships Wanda and Vision, here you go, and for anyone who ships Nat and Bucky... well, you'll see.

I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

The next morning he woke Steve up for training, and after breakfast they watched the third movie in the trilogy. Bucky had to admit he enjoyed how much better movies had gotten since their time, everything looked so much better.

A half hour after the movie ended, while they were clarifying things for each other, Steve got a text from Natasha, informing him that they had finished up early and were headed back today, scheduled to land in twenty minutes.

They moved their conversation up to the roof, where Bucky let the small animal chase after its ball until he could see the plane coming in, keeping it close to his side from then on.

The moment the door opened Wanda ran out to hug him, and he smiled a little and hugged her back. Clint and the Vision got off the plane next, with Natasha getting off last and reporting to Steve.

"How was the mission?" He turned his attention back to Wanda.

"It was good. I mean, successful. We were ambushed, but none of us were hurt, and we completed the mission." Her smile said she was hiding something, but he heard Natasha reporting something similar to Steve and so didn't call her out on it right here.

They got in and Steve got a full mission report from all of them before they went about their lives. Bucky noticed that the Vision stood a little closer to Wanda than he had previously, and she looked at him with more emotion in her eyes now. Their hands also drifted to the necklaces Bucky had gotten them when they were alone, and after a day of silently observing them Bucky and Wanda were alone together, tossing the ball over the air between them and watching the small animal attempt to catch it.

"So what really happened on the mission?" Bucky asked her as he caught the ball, and she looked up at him.

"What?" She knew exactly what he meant, and was trying to delay it, but he wanted to know what had happened.

"Between yourself and the Vision. I know something did. You stand closer, you smile at each other more, and you hold your necklaces when your hands are free." He listed his evidence, and she bit her lip.

"We…" She shifted nervously, but she was smiling, and Bucky didn't really know where she was going. "We kissed."

Bucky assumed this was the beginning of her story and so waited, but after a minute of her smiling nervously and Bucky sitting in stoic confused silence he realized she probably needed prompting.

"And then…?"

"And then… it was kind of amazing." She smiled a little wider.

He needed more information, because at the moment he didn't understand the importance.

"When?"

"On the mission, during the fight. I hid behind a wall for a moment to catch my breath, and he joined me to make sure I was okay, and… I kissed him."

"Why?"

"He was concerned for me, and I was in the heat of battle, and we just- well- we kissed." The word kiss was making her smile more with each time she said it, and it occurred to him that this was a big thing for her. He didn't understand why, but he let it be. She was excited, and he supposed that increasing physical contact was probably a relationship milestone he just had yet to recover from his memory, so he just smiled.

"I'm glad you two are finally becoming closer."

"Ye- finally?" She caught his wording and looked at him.

"You two have been dancing around your emotions since I met you. So yes." He tossed her the ball. "Finally."

She smiled and caught it, and tossed it back to him, only for the small animal to catch it in the air and return it to her, and she rubbed its head and praised it.

He pondered her excitement over kissing for a few days, not bringing it up just yet in case it was something he should understand by now.

Three days after she told him, he, the small animal, and Steve were eating lunch in the small lounge near the cafeteria. They weren't talking, just calmly eating together.

After a moment Bucky got up to get a drink from the small fridge under the countertop.

"Grab me a bottle of water?" Steve asked when he saw where Bucky was, and Bucky nodded and got him one, leaning on the counter and handing it to him.

Clint and Natasha came in, Clint smiling and nodding to him and Steve, Natasha doing the same without the smile.

"Hey boys."

"Hey Nat. Clint." Steve nodded back to them.

"How's the old folks home holding up?" Clint sat back while Natasha got herself a drink.

It occurred to him that he needed to spend more time with Clint and Natasha. Mistrust still lingered since the nightmare he had had months ago, but it was fading, and one or both of them were on almost every mission that left this compound.

Clint was alright, he had a sense of humor that Bucky liked, and hadn't directly informed Bucky he didn't trust him, but Natasha was another story.

He thought of times she had reacted positively to him, to see what he had done in those situations. He had to find something he could apply to her.

"Эй Наташа?" (Hey Natasha?) Bucky asked her as she came back around the counter from the fridge, prompting both her and Steve to look up at him.

"Что ты хочешь?" (What do you want?) She didn't seem to be irritated, just curious as to what he was doing.

"Давайте оформляют." (Let's make out.) He suggested, which made Clint look up as well.

"Чего-" (What-) Before she had much chance to reply he had pressed his lips to hers roughly.

Memories came flooding back about every time he had tried this before, and while the emotion was missing he remembered the actions very clearly. When he gained no emotion from this kiss, the way Wanda presumably had, he put one hand on Natasha's face and the other on her hip and pulled her closer until there was negligible space between them.

After a moment he realized he might not be doing this kissing thing right after all and let go of her, leaning back on the counter again, and became very aware that everyone was staring at him.

"Что ебать это было?!" (What the heck was that?!) She didn't seem mad, just very surprised and a little unprepared.

"What just happened?" Steve added, and Bucky remembered that Steve didn't speak Russian so he went back to English.

"I didn't understand why Wanda was so excited about kissing the Vision, so I thought I should try it. I don't think I did it right." He shrugged.

Clint started laughing. "No, you did it exactly right."

"What do you mean Wanda kissed Vision? When?" Natasha asked around the same time.

"Did you seriously just kiss Natasha?" Steve rounded them out.

He decided that since Natasha was the one he had the most trouble connecting with he would answer her first.

"On the mission, during the ambush."

"THAT'S where they were?" Now she wasn't pleased, and he realized why Wanda had waited so long to tell him about it, and waited until they were alone.

"Natasha he just kissed you, the least you could do is give the man a minute." Clint teased her a little.

"You, shush." She pointed at Clint. "You, where's Wanda?" She pointed at Bucky.

"Training." He probably shouldn't have given away Wanda's position to an irritated Natasha, but as Wanda's commanding officer she wasn't wrong to be irritated that Wanda had been deepening her relationship with the Vision while Clint and Natasha were in a fight with the enemy.

"Hey now you know how it feels when a Russian assassin grabs your face and puts their lips on it." Steve reasoned with her with a slightly shocked smile, and Bucky remembered Steve had told him about the time Natasha kissed him in order to avoid Hydra capture.

"Get it before it's gone Nat. Bucky's got game." Clint added with a smile.

Natasha just rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go find Wanda. You…" She paused on Bucky for a second, still a little confused, and he had to take pride in his ability to cause that in her. "You I'll talk to later."

She walked out.

Clint was still grinning in amusement, and Steve smiled a little as well.

"I'm a little confused. Did I do it right or not?" Bucky still wasn't sure. She hadn't reacted much to the actual kissing, more concerned about Wanda and the Vision being absent during battle, and he had thought it would have more of an effect. What effect he wanted it to have, he wasn't sure, but an effect all the same.

"You did it right Buck. Trust me." Steve assured him.

The small animal barked in agreement, and he knelt down and picked it up in his arms to rub its head.

"She just didn't see it coming. We didn't either. Where'd that come from?" Clint asked.

"I'm not close to Natasha, and she goes on most of the missions here. Trusting her gives me a tactical advantage. Wanda and the Vision are closer since they kissed, I thought I should try it. I didn't understand why."

"Cap, our children are growing up." Clint smiled at Steve, who rolled his eyes.

"I wouldn't've thought they would kiss out in the field."

"Neither did I, but I also thought it would take them years to advance in their relationship the way they were going." Bucky shrugged.

"Hey, I'm proud of them, especially Wanda. Moving forward with their lives." Bucky hadn't seen Clint and Wanda interact much, but he did get a sense they were fairly close, and Clint almost seemed like an adoptive father figure for her. When she mentioned him it was always fond.

They stayed there and talked, with Bucky really only saying much when he was asked.

That night he went to tuck Wanda in and told her what had happened.

"You kissed Natasha?" She was as surprised as Steve and Clint had been.

He nodded. "I'm not close to her, and I thought since it worked for you and Vision it would work for us."

She smiled a little. "Did it?"

"Not that I know. She hasn't addressed it, but she said she would talk to me later. I managed to unbalance her at least, that's something I can keep in mind in the event that she becomes a threat."

"Is that all?" She nudged him a little.

"What do you mean?" He didn't understand what else there would be.

"Are you interested in her? As… maybe… something besides just an ally?" She was trying to prompt him towards something.

"A friend?" He guessed she meant.

"I was thinking more than that but sure, if you just want to be her friend."

"I just want to be her ally. I have enough friends."

"You only have three friends Bucky."

"And that's enough."

They watched each other for a moment before she yawned, and he tucked her in.

"Good night Wanda."

"Good night Bucky." She curled up and he turned her light off and left.

He spent the next day mostly with Steve, since Natasha was putting Wanda and the Vision through rigorous training as punishment for not focusing on the mission.

Towards the end of the day Bucky looked at the sketch Steve was drawing, of Peggy Carter, and thought about the old days a bit. He remembered meeting Peggy Carter for the first time. She was nice, and attractive, and reminded him of someone-

Something occurred to him.

Why hadn't this occurred to him before now?

He looked up at Steve. "Steve?"

"Yeah Bucky?" Steve looked up at him.

"Did I have a sister?"

* * *

Aaaaaaaand cut.

I did some digging, and yes indeed Bucky has more family than just Steve, but beyond his sister there's nothing too defined. You know what that means: creative license!

As you can probably guess I have next chapter planned out, so no requests there, but if there's anything you'd like to see in the future let me know

I am doing less filler chapters now though, and just cutting straight to plot points I've been planning for months, so expect potentially longer chapters, longer breaks between chapters, and for those chapters to contain phrases like "months passed" or "Bucky took a few weeks for himself", because montages cut on time


	28. Chapter 28

I swear when I said I'd be taking a bit more time I didn't mean this long.

Nevertheless, here it is, the chapter I have been trying to write for a very long time.

I hope you all like it.

* * *

"Rebecca." Bucky felt a little relieved that he didn't seem to be the only one who had forgotten her.

"She was younger than me, with brown hair. We didn't talk much. She was annoying. She wanted to play with me." Bucky pulled up memories slowly.

"She was better when we all got older, then she left us alone." Steve nodded.

"What happened to her?" Bucky couldn't remember.

"I… don't know. She was probably okay. Married, kids, all that." Steve guessed.

That didn't feel like enough. He didn't want to just guess she was okay.

"I want to know."

"Okay. We can go find out." Steve assured him.

They pulled out a computer and looked for anything they could find regarding Rebecca, but quickly realized they were out of their depth and went to get help.

Stark was in his lab, and gave them instruction on how to search through public records online to find his sister.

She was dead. Buried in Brooklyn, next to her husband, with whom she had one child, who was also dead. That child had gotten married, and had two children, one of whom died and the other of whom had a daughter named Angela before also dying.

Angela was still alive, and lived in Brooklyn as well, with no husband but a young daughter named Victoria.

She worked at the Brooklyn museum at night doing restoration work, which upon further research revealed itself to be mostly with statues and carvings. Victoria appeared to be too young to be in school yet, and wasn't listed in any publicly recorded childcare programs.

Steve suggested that they visit Becky's grave, and after a moment of contemplation Bucky agreed, and quietly asked if he could visit Angela and Victoria as well.

Steve was a little hesitant but agreed to let him go alone to see them, promising to stay nearby in case he was needed.

Bucky left the small animal with Wanda and the Vision for the day. It didn't seem to mind, and this felt like something he needed to do alone.

They bought a small wreath of blue flowers, Becky's favorite color, and Bucky laid it on her grave. Steve stood behind him watching as Bucky knelt and rested his head on the stone for a moment.

He didn't know how to process it now that he was here. The odds that she would still be alive after all this time were low, and when he had heard she was dead he'd understood that, but at the site of her body it was very different. He felt a swell of emotion for her, and water silently slid down his face as he knelt perfectly still at her grave.

He took a moment to calm himself before standing and drying his face. Steve offered to just take him back home, but he wanted to meet Angela and Victoria today, while he was out of the compound already, and Steve drove him to the apartment building where they lived.

He went up to their apartment and took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

When it opened Rebecca was standing in front of him.

There were differences, this was definitely Angela. She had red hair instead of Becky's brown, her eyes were brown instead of grey, she was a little shorter than he had last seen Becky, and less stick-like in her body. But her face looked like Becky, without question.

"Can I help you?" She asked him.

"You look like her." He said before realizing that likely wasn't a good way to start a conversation with her.

"I'm sorry? Who?" Angela was confused, he could tell.

"My sister, Rebecca. Becky. Not everything is the same, but your face is very close."

She slowly nodded. "Okay…?"

"She's dead." He explained. "She died twenty two years ago."

"Oh… okay." She was still very confused, and also he realized somewhat intimidated.

This wasn't going well.

"Becky was your great grandmother." He added, and she took a step back from him.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm your great-great-uncle, her brother. Bucky Barnes." He understood why she looked shocked. He hadn't entirely thought out the ramifications that might have on her until he had arrived.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but-"

"I'm James Buchanan Barnes, former member of the Howling Commandos, friend and ally to Steve Rogers, I fell off a Hydra train in 1945 and was presumed dead. Your great grandmother Becky was my younger sister."

She stared at him, and he was worried she didn't believe him, but she looked back at a shelf in her apartment for a split second, and he saw a picture of himself there over her shoulder. It was from before the war, the day he had gotten his uniform. Becky had insisted on the picture, to commemorate her big brother becoming a soldier.

She looked back at Bucky, and he could see her looking over his face, finding the traits she knew from that picture on his face.

"Are you actually?" She needed confirmation, and he nodded.

"It's me."

"Why are you here?" She was understandably confused, but he didn't have time to reply.

"Mommy?" Victoria came around to hug Angela's leg from behind. She had brown hair which hung very much like his around her face, though it looked a bit healthier, and he could see the resemblance to her mother. "Who's that mommy?"

"I'm Bucky." He waved to her a little, and she waved back a little, still hiding behind her mother's leg.

Angela knelt down facing her. "Honey why don't you go get your day clothes on? Okay?"

"But who's the man-"

"You can meet the man when you're dressed, alright honey?"

"Okay!" She hugged her mother and ran off to another room of the apartment, and Angela stood back up.

"I guess you'll probably want to come in?" She stepped aside so Bucky could come into the apartment.

He nodded and did so, and she led him to the living room, where there were a few crayons and a half finished drawing strewn on the floor.

She gestured for him to take a seat and he sat down in the empty chair. Angela sat on the couch watching him, and he could tell she was extremely confused that he was really here.

"You have questions." He stated to break the silence.

"Yeah, a lot. Just trying to figure out where to start I guess. Um… I guess there's really only one place to start, how are you still alive?"

"Hydra experimented on me, and injected me with a similar serum to the one Steve got while I was captured. I didn't die when I fell. They found my body, and turned me into a weapon. I've been in and out of cryogenic stasis for seventy years. The most recent time I woke up, I was sent to kill Captain America. When I recognized Steve, I started remembering… me. He found me a year ago, I was trying to recover my memory better, and I've been with him and the Avengers since, slowly trying to recover. Making progress." He explained. Angela didn't need to know the details of his torture, at least not yet.

"Why did you come find us? Why now?" She asked next. She seemed to be processing this fairly well, but he supposed that if Captain America could come back from the dead he wouldn't be such a stretch after that.

"My memory is still slow, and a lot of my recovery centered on Steve and the army. I didn't remember Becky until recently, and I wanted to know what happened to her. I saw she had a child, and looked for any living descendants."

"And found us." Angela finished for him, and he nodded. "Wow. This is a lot. I mean, everyone said Steve was alive, but he was Captain America. Now you're alive too, and you're sitting in my apartment. You look my age."

"Actually only counting the time I've spent alive and out of stasis, I'm a month younger than you." He'd done the math out for something to do in the car on the way there.

"I'm all dressed mommy!" Victoria came running back out, in different clothes now, and Angela picked her up and sat Victoria in her lap.

"There you go Vicky. That's better." Angela kissed her head.

"Who's the man?" Victoria pointed at him.

"You know the uncle Bucky, Captain America's friend, that I tell you bedtime stories about?"

She told her daughter bedtime stories about him?

Victoria nodded. "Uh huh."

"That's him. That's your uncle Bucky." Angela nodded to him.

Victoria stared at him, wide eyed. "But- but- but- but mommy you said he was gone away."

"He came back, and he wanted to meet us." Angela gave him a look that warned him very clearly not to mention being captured and experimented on by Hydra for seventy years.

"Are you really my uncle Bucky?" Victoria asked him.

"Yes." He slowly nodded, and she clapped and crawled away from her mother to come hug him.

He stared at her in surprise for a moment, unsure why exactly she was clinging to his chest. After a moment he patted her back a little.

Angela could see he wasn't entirely comfortable. "Vicky let go of your uncle. Come back and sit on the couch."

Victoria squeezed him a little before sitting next to her mother obediently, and he gave her a small look of relief.

"How are things for you two?" What he hadn't been able to find online was anything regarding Angela and Victoria's daily lives, how well they were surviving.

"They're okay. A bit tight, but we make do." Angela shrugged. "I'm just grateful I don't often have to get a babysitter for this little rascal." She nudged Victoria a little, making her giggle. "Work lets me bring her in, since I'm on the night shift she just sleeps the whole time."

"Do you need more money?" The apartment was small and fairly bare, and he remembered his apartment before the war had been similar when he had little money to spare.

She shook her head. "Thank you, but you don't need to go out of your way for us. We're alright. Right Vicky?" She nudged Victoria.

"Okely dokely!" Victoria grinned. He got the impression Victoria knew very little about formal monetary matters, but Angela had taught her to say they were fine if asked.

He made a note to ask Steve about if he made any money, and if he could give some to them.

"I'm hungry mommy, can I have cereal?" Victoria tugged on her mother's arm a little.

"Sure honey. I'll get some for you. Bucky, can you keep her out of trouble?" Angela asked him. He could keep her from dying or getting injured, so he nodded.

"Sure."

"Thank you. Just tell her some child appropriate stories, she loves hearing about you." Angela stressed the words "child appropriate" as she smiled and went out to the kitchen.

"You're gonna tell me a story?" Victoria leapt into his lap.

She was very energetic, and reminded him a little of the small animal.

"What do you want me to tell you a story about?" He didn't really know what Angela considered to be appropriate content for her daughter.

"Umm… I like aminals."

He had no idea what an aminal was. "Aminals?"

"Uh huh. Puppies and kitties and stuff." Oh, she meant animals. That made more sense.

"I have a puppy. A brown one." He decided to talk about the small animal. That should be safe.

"Really?" Victoria was very eager.

"Yes." He nodded. "I found it here in Brooklyn, it lived on the street. So did I. I gave it some food, and it followed me, even after I tried to send it back. It woke me up from a nightmare that night and after that we just… stayed together."

"You have nightmares?" Victoria asked him.

He nodded, a little worried that so small a child knew what those were. "Do you Victoria?"

"Vicky." She insisted obstinately, crossing her arms, and he couldn't help but smile at the small display of power.

"Okay, Vicky."

"I had one nightmare, it was real scary. A great big monster was gonna eat me." She looked a little frightened still, and he rubbed her back instinctively.

"No monsters are going to eat you Vicky. I'll keep you safe." He promised her gently, and she hugged him again.  
He still wasn't prepared for it.

"Thank you uncle Bucky." She squeezed him, and he kept rubbing her back gently.

"You're welcome."

Angela came back with Victoria- Vicky's breakfast. "C'mere honey, I've got your cereal. Time for breakfast."

Vicky let go of Bucky and sat on the floor facing the living room table to eat her cereal.

"Do you want anything Bucky? At least a drink? I'm making coffee." Angela offered.

"Coffee is good, thank you." He accepted with a nod.

"Vicky, Bucky and I are going to the kitchen to talk okay? When you're done eating you can go back to your coloring." Angela kissed her head and nodded for Bucky to follow her to the kitchen.

He did so, and sat where she nodded, on an old stool.

Angela made herself busy preparing the coffee. "She doesn't concentrate on much for long, she was never going to eat with you in the room." She explained.

Bucky nodded a little. "Where's her father?"

Angela tensed a little, but replied. "Married, to someone else. I didn't know until I told him I was pregnant, then he just threw me off. I'm getting child support for now, but he's getting his lawyers to work on it, so his wife won't find out about me."

He tried to wrap his mind around the problem, and in the end nodded. "He sounds like a dick."

Angela smiled. "He is, but I would appreciate language like that being kept out of the house. Vicky's too young to be picking it up just yet."

Bucky nodded again. "My apologies."

"No worries. You don't seem like you have a lot of experience with kids."

He shook his head. "I don't remember much of being one, or anything of interacting with them myself. My mind doesn't quite know how to process whether or not they're a threat."

Angela looked a little confused at how he had phrased it, and he remembered Sam talking to him about PTSD and realized she probably didn't understand his need to assess threats.

"I… I've been through a lot. It's habit to look out for threats. I'm working on it." He assured her, and she relaxed a little.

"That's good. Do you have a therapist?" She poured the finished coffee.

"I have a therapy dog, and Steve's friend Sam works with people who have traumatic pasts. He's talked to me a few times."

"That's good then." She offered him a cup of coffee and he took it and drank a little. It was different from the coffee at the compound, likely due to cost, but he liked it. "When did you lose your hand?"

Bucky looked and realized he was holding the cup with his metal hand.

"It's not just my hand, but my whole arm. I lost it when I fell off the train, when everyone thought I died." He explained, pushing his hoodie and shirt aside enough to show her where the arm joined to his body.

"That looks painful." She winced a little, and he put his clothing back over it.

"It is, but I'm used to it now." He shrugged.

She looked a little concerned for him but stayed silent and drank her coffee.

Bucky drank his. "Do you have much of a life beyond Vicky and your job?"

She shook her head. "Not unless sleep counts. She's a good kid, I'm lucky there, and the museum lets me bring her in since she sleeps the whole shift, but I don't really rest a lot. I'm a single mom, that's just how life goes." She shrugged.

"Is there anything I can do to help you? I want to do what I can. I wasn't a good brother to Rebecca, I would like the chance to make up for it." He felt genuine emotion for these people, despite only having met them today. He wanted them to be well.

"Maybe just taking Vicky once in a while if you're comfortable with that, just so I could catch up on some sleep. Only if you can though, I'm sure you're busy with… hero… things…" She smiled a little, and he was struck momentarily with confusion.

"Why are you smiling?" He needed explanation.

"Now that it's just us, it's sinking in. My aunt told me all about you as a kid, it was a family tradition. We always talked about the hero of the family, great uncle Bucky. You were my hero. Oh god, I remember trying to dress up like you for Halloween one year when I was a kid." She smiled a little more.

Bucky had no idea how to react. Steve was always the hero, not him, and after everything he had done… He wasn't a hero. Heroes didn't do the things he did, weren't hurt the way he was.

But he couldn't quite bring himself to tell her that.

"Thank you, for holding me in such high esteem."

"Of course." She nodded with a smile.

They both finished their coffee and went back out to the living room, where Vicky was drawing on the floor happily.

Bucky was about to sit down when Steve texted him.

"What's up?" Angela noticed.

"Steve has to get back, I have to go. I'm sorry, I wish I could stay longer." He apologized.

"You have to go away again?" Vicky looked up at him with sadness in her eyes and he knelt down next to her.

"I'll come back soon. Don't be sad Vicky."

"Promise uncle Bucky?" Her eyes were wide.

He nodded, and took the initiative to hug her before she hugged him. "I promise."

She hugged him back tightly, and after a second he let go and stood up to hug Angela, who also hugged him back tightly.

"Take care Bucky."

"You too Angela. I'll come by again when I can." He promised.

"Thanks." She let go, and he stepped back and waved a little to both of them.

"Goodbye."

"Bye bye uncle Bucky!" Vicky waved at him.

"See you Bucky." Angela waved as well.

Bucky left and got in the car, where Steve was waiting.

"How'd it go Buck?" He asked gently.

Bucky took a deep breath to process it for a moment.

"It went well, I think. Really well."

* * *

And there it is.

As always, please feel free to leave me a review, I do genuinely appreciate getting feedback from you guys, and if there are any chapters you want to see ahead, with Angela or with Natasha or with Wanda or with whoever, let me know, I will gladly take requests (they just might take a while (sorry))

Also let me know what you'd rather see next, I have two subplots planned out that I can run with: the sixth Avenger, or Hydra's return


	29. Chapter 29

Wow. Overwhelming response last chapter. I'm so glad so many of you liked it.

And after three chapters with no requests, I now have three requests, so I'll do what I can to balance you all out

I'm not doing these in the order I got them requested, but in the order that makes the most sense plot-wise, so it'll be Vicky this chapter, then the two-to-three chapter sixth avenger special, then however many chapters hydra takes, possibly with room for other requests in there

Hope you guys like it

* * *

When Bucky got home, Wanda was eager to know everything, and it took him the rest of the day to recount the events of the day to her.

She was thrilled for him, and eager to meet Angela and Vicky. Bucky was a little more hesitant, but he wanted his families to interact, he just wasn't sure how well they would react to Wanda being… Wanda.

They spent a week with one another while Steve and Natasha dealt with a crisis, and he took her and the small animal training in the mornings in Steve's place while she was gone. She protested when he woke her up so early, but got up anyway and came with him. The small animal presented zero protest, bouncing happily alongside him, and he noticed it was starting to get bigger. It was no longer the scrap of fur he had found on the street, but rather a fully formed, but still small, dog.

During the day he either watched television with Wanda, the one form of media left he hadn't fully exploited since it took so much time, or he secreted himself to his room to read in order to let Wanda have some time with the Vision.

Their relationship seemed to be moving very slowly, with only two more kisses having occurred since the first one. Wanda appeared not to mind though, and so Bucky didn't comment beyond asking her on occasion how things were going between them.

They were sitting back in Wanda's room finishing up a television show near the end of the week.

"It's surprising how far racial attitudes have progressed since my time. This could never have been made during my original lifetime." Bucky commented, pleasantly surprised that the world seemed to be getting more equal.

"Mm. It's really good too, I felt like I was really there." Wanda nodded.

"I think the first half was better though. The second half just felt sort of rushed." Bucky noted.

"It was still good, but I think I know what you mean. It just wasn't quite as… You know?" Wanda waved her hands around vaguely, causing the small animal to try to jump up and paw at them, and Bucky rubbed its head a little and nodded.

They sat there for a moment, watching the small animal and rubbing its head, respectively.

"You should go visit your family." Wanda suggested.

"Has it been long enough? I don't want Angela to get concerned that I'm going to be there too often." He was a little worried, he didn't want to screw things up with her and Vicky.

"Go." Wanda nudged him with a small smile. "They'll want to see you. Don't worry, I can watch the small dog, can't I?" She turned to the small animal and nuzzled it a little and it licked her face happily.

"Alright. If you see Vision, keep things appropriate. No sudden making out on walls." He tried teasing her a little and she blushed but smiled.

"Okay. Have fun."

Bucky hugged her gently and rubbed the small animal's head before heading out to get his motorcycle and driving into Brooklyn.

He parked outside their building and took a deep breath before going upstairs and knocking on their door.

"Who is it?" Angela called from somewhere farther back in the apartment.

"Your uncle Bucky." Bucky replied.

"One second!" She called, and he could hear some moving around before the door opened. "Bucky, hey." Angela looked fairly worn out. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and she appeared to be slightly out of breath.

"Hi. Are you alright?" He had to check, Wanda looked like this after fights.

"Yeah I'm fine, Vicky is just hyper this morning. Come on in." She nodded for him to enter, and he did so slowly. He wasn't entirely used to how normal this all was.

He abruptly felt something on his leg, and looked down to see Vicky hugging it.

"Hi Vicky." He waved confusedly.

"Hi uncle Bucky!" She waved up at him, not letting go of his leg.

"Why are you clinging to my leg?" He asked slowly.

"I'm a monkey!" She proclaimed proudly. She didn't look like a monkey, so he assumed this was some sort of game she was playing.

"Come on monkey, let go of your uncle. Uncle Bucky isn't a tree." Angela picked Vicky up off of his leg and sat her down on the couch, and he nodded to Angela gratefully. She nodded back, and Bucky sat down.

"Want anything to drink?" Angela offered him.

"No thank you." He shook his head. He didn't want to ask anything of her, she looked so worn out. Positive, but worn out.

She sat down for a moment, what looked like the first time she'd sat down all day. "Any reason you came by? Or did you just want to visit?"

"I just wanted to come by, help you out. I wasn't sure how long was appropriate to be gone before I came again, but Wanda insisted I should come today." He explained.

"Yay!" Vicky tackled him in a hug, and he awkwardly hugged her back.

"Wanda?" Angela asked curiously.

"Wanda Maximoff, my closest friend beside Steve. She's become something of a younger sister to me."

Angela nodded a little.

"Is she a hero too just like you?" Vicky asked him, looking up at him with big round eyes.

"Yes. Very much so." He nodded.

"Is she the redheaded avenger?" Angela asked.

Bucky shook his head. "That's Natasha Romanoff. She's… Natasha and I have what Steve and Wanda call a complicated relationship."

Vicky giggled a little. "Is she your girlfriend?"

He shook his head. "No. Just an ally."

"Do you have a crush on her?"

He couldn't remember what crush meant. He knew it meant something in this context, besides crushing something in his hand, but- oh right.

"No. Although I nearly crushed her throat once."

"Vicky honey come sit back down on the couch." Angela waved her over, giving Bucky a look that he assumed meant he had divulged too much information.

"I'm sorry." He said to her quietly.

Her face softened a little. "It's okay, just try to keep it a little more child appropriate, okay?"

Vicky, for her part, just looked very confused as she sat back down on the couch.

Bucky nodded. "Is there anything I can do to help you today?"

"Mommy and me were gonna go buy groceries!" Vicky exclaimed happily, bouncing up and down.

"It'd be a huge help if you could take Vicky for me." Angela asked.

"To get groceries, or just to watch her?" Bucky didn't entirely know what buying groceries would entail. Having stolen all of the food he ate before he came to the compound, and having most of his meals already made at the compound, he hadn't actually been inside an open grocery store since before the war.

Angela could see his discomfort. "Just watching her is okay, I just need to catch my breath for a minute."

Bucky nodded in relief. "Of course. I'll watch her, don't worry."

She sighed gratefully. "Thank you so much. I really appreciate this."

She got up and Bucky stood as well.

"My cellphone number is on the fridge if you need to reach me, stay in the apartment, don't let her in the kitchen, she can drink milk or water if she gets thirsty, her toys are in her room, paper and crayons is all in there too, um… don't let her play with anything dangerous, if you're gonna tell her stories try to keep violence out of it, she doesn't get any television, no movies or anything, um… I think that's it." She listed off quickly. Bucky kept mental track of it all. "Think you can handle it?"

He nodded. "I should be alright. Take what time you need."

"Thank you so much uncle Bucky." She smiled, and he hugged her. She looked like she needed it.

She hugged him back.

"You're welcome Angela." He assured her, and they both let go.

Angela knelt down in front of Vicky and kissed her head. "Be a good girl for uncle Bucky okay? You know the rules, don't do anything you wouldn't do if I was here."

"I love you mommy!" Vicky hugged Angela, and Angela hugged her back.

"I love you too honey." Angela kissed her head again, and got up and put her shoes on, and got a bag.

"You two have fun!" She waved goodbye.

"Bye mommy!" Vicky waved in return.

Angela left and Bucky turned to look at Vicky, who was looking up at him expectantly.

He had no idea what to actually do with her.

This was going to be an interesting few hours.

"What do you do exactly?" He asked Vicky.

"I play pretend sometimes, or I color, or mommy tells me stories." She explained. "Do you wanna color with me?"

He slowly nodded. "Okay." He had no clue what he was doing.

She hopped up off the couch and he followed her to her room, where she picked up a plastic box full of crayons. "Mommy put the paper up there so I couldn't get it." She pointed up to a shelf, and Bucky found the paper and took it down.

"This paper?"

Vicky nodded and went back out to the living room, and sat on the floor by the table, and Bucky sat down on the floor next to her slowly, setting the paper on the table.

She took a piece and started drawing vague figures on it, and he took one and let his hand wander over the page as he watched her.

"What are you drawing Vicky?"

"It's you!" She pointed at a stick person with brown lines coming from its head, which he assumed was him. "You're putting all the bad hydra guys in jail because they were being mean to people. And I'm right…" she drew a smaller female stick figure next to his. "There! Helping my uncle Bucky!"

She drew the lines that were presumably their arms so that they were touching and he smiled a little. He didn't know why, but he found it touching that she wanted to fight at his side in battle.

"Maybe when you're a little older you can come with me, but you're still too little for now." She pouted. "Do you want me to tell you about some of the really good times?" He offered as an apology, and she got over her pout very quickly and clapped.

"Yeah! Yeah! Tell me about Steve and Wanda and Natasha and the Avengers." She smiled.

He pulled her into his lap and started telling her about how he had reunited with Steve, the first time he had seen Natasha, how he had met Wanda, the trip to New York, his training session with Wanda and Natasha and Clint months ago, and as he talked he drew her pictures to help show her. They weren't anywhere near Steve's quality, but they were enough for Vicky.

She was fascinated by it all. She asked question after question, and he answered them all as well as he could considering her age. Trying to reorient some of the stories was interesting given Angela's wish to keep from telling Vicky about too much violence, but luckily Vicky didn't seem to pay much attention to those parts of the stories.

"Why are you drawing your arm in silver crayon uncle Bucky?" She pointed at one of his drawings, and he realized she hadn't seen the arm.

He hesitated for a moment, but took off his leather jacket and rolled up his sleeve to show her the full arm.

She gasped in delight. "It's so pretty!"

That wasn't quite the first word he would use to describe it.

"Is that your real arm?" She poked at it.

"No, the… bad guys put it on me. I lost my real one." He explained.

"Why is there a red star on it?" She traced the star on his shoulder with her tiny fingers.

"Because that was one of the symbols they used to represent themselves. A red star, an octopus, a hammer and sickle. The star was likely just easier to put on me than the other two."

"Why?" She asked, and he picked up a red crayon.

"Because this…" He drew a red star on a piece of paper. "Is easier to draw than this…" he drew the soviet hammer and sickle. "And this." He drew out the Hydra symbol.

"That one looks scary." She pointed to the Hydra symbol.

"It is, very scary." He nodded.

"You should give it a smiley face." She suggested, and he actually laughed for a moment at the strange absurdity of it before complying, drawing a smile on it, and he had to admit it looked much less imposing now.

"Give it a moustache too!" She added with a giggle, and he added a moustache on it. It no longer even looked like the Hydra symbol, just a strange happy octopus with facial hair.

He didn't know why that made him happy, but it did.

"You should put glitter on your arm. Then it would be even more pretty." She poked at his arm again.

"Glitter isn't tactical. It would give away my position when trying to sneak up on the bad guys."

"But it's pretty." She insisted.

"But it isn't tactical." He insisted confusedly in return.

"Glitter is pretty. You can make the bad guys be friendly cause your arm is so pretty that they wanna be friends with you." She reasoned.

She was a very intelligent three year old.

"That isn't quite how it works." She started pouting again. "Maybe I'll try putting glitter on it later." He offered, and that seemed to satisfy her.

"How big is Captain America's big Frisbee shield?"

He held his hands out to demonstrate its size. "About that big. It's very light though, and it bounces very well, so it's good for throwing."

"Did you touch it?" Vicky asked an awful lot of questions.

"I've used it a few times. It's good for… stuff. Things." He panicked a little trying to figure out how to explain the purpose of a shield without any violence.

"Mommy says stuff and things sometimes. I think it's from TV. That's what she says after she says stuff and thangs."

"Thangs?" Bucky asked, and Vicky nodded. He made a note to ask Angela later what this was.

He kept drawing out his stories with her until Angela came home. By then, Vicky was starting to drift to sleep in his arms.

"Hi Angela." He waved a little to her.

"Hey Bucky." Angela smiled a little and set the bags in her arms in the kitchen before coming back out. "Is she asleep?"

"Nearly." He looked down at Vicky, whose eyes were closed, but she was still holding on to him gently.

"It's nearly time for her nap anyway. Do you want to put her to bed while I get the groceries away?" Angela asked him, and he nodded and stood, picking Vicky up in his arms.

He carried her into her room and laid her down in bed, pulling the blanket up around her just as he did with Wanda.

Vicky mumbled something tiredly, and he smoothed her hair back gently and left to let her sleep.

"Thank you." Angela said once he had come out.

"You're welcome." He nodded to her.

"How was she? Did she behave?" Angela sat back, and Bucky nodded.

"She sat in my lap and drew and listened while I told her stories, and asked a lot of questions." He explained.

"Yeah, she's right at that age." Angela nodded a little. "Thank you so much for watching her, I really appreciate it."

"Any time." He offered.

Angela hugged him, and he hugged her back gently. She seemed tired, but much more relaxed now than she had been when she left.

He was glad he had been able to help her. She was a good person so far, it felt good doing things to help her, and she was his only blood family.

She eventually let go of him, and he let go of her and stepped back.

"Would you like my number, in case you need to call me?" Bucky offered.

"That would be great, thank you so much." Angela smiled. Bucky wrote it down on one of the drawings and handed it to her. "Thank you Bucky."

"You're welcome Angela." He smiled a little, before picking up his hoodie and putting it back on.

"Do you have to go?" She guessed, and he slowly nodded.

"It's getting late. I really should get back."

"Okay. Thanks, again, so much. I'll call you if we need anything." Angela smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"I'll keep my phone close in case. Should I call you if I want to visit again?" He asked.

"Probably a good idea, yeah." She nodded.

"Alright. I will. Take care of yourself Angela." He hugged her again, and she hugged him back briefly.

They mutually let go and waved to each other before Bucky left.

He got on his bike and drove back home, going and just sitting on the roof for a while, for a moment to himself. He had spent a lot of energy today, maybe more than he had on his last mission. It was a different kind of energy, but… it felt good.

He heard barking and looked up to see the small animal running to his side from the door to the rooftop, and Wanda followed it a bit more slowly.

"Did you miss me small dog?" He rubbed its head when it got to his side, and it jumped in his lap and licked his face happily, making him smile.

"How was it?" Wanda asked, sitting next to him.

"It was good. Angela needed me to watch Vicky for her, so we sat back and drew and I told her about the compound. She wants to meet you all now." Bucky explained.

Wanda smiled. "That's wonderful."

Bucky nodded a little, and Wanda curled up next to him.

He had two families now. It was strange, but a nice strange. The kind of strange one might welcome to come back again.

* * *

And yes, I am talking about Luke Cage, before you ask, and yes you should all go watch it if you can, that show is incredible, Cottonmouth is a gem.

Also the Walking Dead, I had to throw that reference in there, I wasn't going to but I couldn't just pass it up. Also a great show, but a very different pace from the Avengers stuff so maybe not for all of you. That season premiere though, am I right?

As always, I love hearing what you guys have to say about my work, good or bad, so let me know what you think, and give me a heads up if there's anything you want to see in the future

Peace!


	30. Chapter 30

So this is quite possibly the most used fanfiction trope I've seen, but hey, there's a reason for that, it's fun. I've been planning this for ages, this was actually gonna be that chapter 25 anniversary special before I realized I didn't have enough time to establish the necessary character dynamics and such, so I had to push it. I had this idea on the bus when I was writing chapter 7 I think.

This has been coming for so long. As such, it's gonna take about three chapters. If there's anything you all want to see me do with it (you'll understand what I mean at the end) I am more than willing to do a chapter in the middle full of things you want Bucky and… our guest… to get up to.

I will apologize for being potentially misleading, seeing as the sixth Avenger tease isn't coming until the second plot chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

Bucky spent a month going between visiting Angela and Vicky, going on another (less death-filled) mission, and hanging out around the compound. The small animal continued growing, and he trained it dutifully alongside himself. Wanda was also vastly improving in her fighting skills, to the point where Bucky had to insist on no magic when he was training with her if he wanted a chance of victory. He still won most of those fights at least, the ones without magic, but when she used it he had to proudly admit that she was getting better than he was.

Getting there. She wasn't better yet. She was just nearing that point.

Bucky woke up one morning near the end of the month and stretched a little, still waking up, when he noticed an unfamiliar weight in his bed and froze, switching into battle mode in case his life was in danger.

He opened his eyes to narrow slits, and looked down at his side.

The small animal was gone.

Where it had been lying there was a child.

He wasn't sure which was worse, the unfamiliar child in his bed or the fact that the small animal was missing.

He got up quickly and grabbed his knife.

He scanned the small child with his eyes. It was a small boy, with messy reddish-brown hair, wearing jeans and a white shirt. The child appeared to be sleeping.

He was starting to panic inside. The small animal was missing and somehow a small child had gotten into his room and was sleeping in his bed.

"Who are you?" He demanded the sleeping body, which shifted a little and started to wake up.

The child looked up at him with strikingly bright green eyes. "Daddy?"

"Who are you?" He demanded again, knife raised.

"Daddy!" The child ran to him and hugged his leg, entirely ignoring his knife.

"I'm not your father. Let go of me." He demanded awkwardly, unsure whether or not he would actually stab the child if he needed to.

The child let go and looked up at him. "You're my daddy Bucky!"

He was entirely lost, and starting to outwardly panic as well. "How do you know my name?"

The child smiled at him. "You raised me."

"I have never seen you in my life. Get away from me!" He backed away from the child, knife still raised. "Where is the small dog?!"

"Don't be scared of me daddy. It's okay." The small child said soothingly, and it might have worked if the small animal weren't missing.

"Steve!" He yelled at the wall between their rooms, staring at the child, starting to breathe heavily. He needed help.

Steve ran in. "Bucky what's going on?"

"Uncle Steve!" The child hugged Steve's leg.

"What- Bucky who's this?" Steve looked between the child and Bucky.

"I don't know but I woke up and the small dog was gone and this child was there and it thinks I'm its father and the small dog is gone." Bucky was officially freaking out.

"Bucky stay calm, we'll find him. Don't worry. Just calm down." Steve assured him gently, nudging the child off of his leg.

Bucky took a slow breath to regain his composure.

The child tilted his head back to look up at Steve, with his neck at nearly a ninety degree angle.

"What's your name?" Steve asked, and Bucky could tell he was as unsure as Bucky was what to do.

"Steve!" The child beamed up at Steve.

"Are you saying I'm Steve or you're Steve?" Steve was confused.

"Uh huh!" The child nodded.

"Your name is Steve?" Steve asked the child, who nodded again. "Okay… Steve… how did you get in here?"

"Daddy carried me before bed."

Steve looked up at Bucky. Bucky shook his head. "I've never seen him before I woke up today."

"Why do you think Bucky is your father?" Steve asked the child.

The door opened again and Wanda came in. "Bucky, I could feel your agitation, what's-"

"Mommy!" The child tackled her in a hug as well.

"Who is this?" Wanda asked him and Steve.

"I'm Steve mommy!" The child smiled up at her.

She looked to Steve in confusion, then Bucky. "I don't have a child."

"He thinks Bucky is his father." Steve added.

"No. We don't have a child." Wanda was confused.

"Don't you know my head?" The child looked up at her.

Bucky remembered Wanda's powers, though the three of them shared a concerned look for a moment that this child knew about them as well. "Look at him. Find out what he's doing here." He instructed, trying to take back control of the situation.

Wanda nodded and knelt down, putting her hands on either side of the child's head and closed her eyes.

"What are you seeing?" Bucky asked her.

Her brow tightened in confusion. "Nothing. There's a wall here. I can't access anything beyond the fact that he exists. Who are you?" She opened her eyes to look at the child.

"I'm Steve. Daddy found me on the street and fed me and took me here."

Both Wanda and Steve looked to Bucky with some kind of slow hesitant realization, but Bucky wasn't there yet. He had no idea what was going on.

"Look at me Steve. You. Child Steve." Bucky pointed at the child with his knife.

The child turned and looked at him.

"Where is the small dog?" He demanded.

"Here." The child said simply.

"Where?" He repeated.

"Here." The child replied again, smiling calmly.

"Little guy?" Steve asked the child, and he turned. "Why do you think Bucky and Wanda are your parents?"

"Cause daddy raised me and mommy plays with me and brought me back to him when he ran away and is nice to me."

Bucky sat down slowly. He didn't know what was going on, and he felt lost.

The child looked over to him, and came over and put his hand on Bucky's, the one holding the knife. "You don't need to be scared of me daddy. I'm not gonna hurt you. I know you're scared but I'm okay." He said softly.

Bucky didn't know why he let go of the knife.

It dropped to the floor next to him as he stared at the small child.

He looked familiar, but he had never seen this child in his life, he knew that for sure.

"Bucky, ask him something about you. Something he couldn't know, unless he'd been around you a lot lately." Steve suggested to him slowly, reaching some conclusion in his mind that needed proof.

Bucky thought, and looked to the child.

"Steve?"

"Yeah daddy?" The child was still holding his hand.

"How many days did I spend alone? Before I came here, after… the Helicarrier."

"Too many. You were sad inside. You weren't sad outside, but you screamed at night. You always stopped screaming when you saw me. Then uncle Steve found you in another alley and you came here and you started screaming less. Why were you screaming daddy?" The child squeezed his hand a little.

He stared at the child. This was so familiar, but he didn't know how. Nothing made sense.

"Is it because Hydra tortured you? You never say it, but everyone else did. The bad Hydra people hurt you before you found me." The child added. "You had a big cut on your side that uncle Steve and Sam fixed when you came here that you said they gave you when you killed them."

He hadn't expected to hear those words come from a child's mouth.

"Bucky, is this… is this kid… the dog?" Steve asked him slowly.

It clicked. How the child could know what it knew, why it looked so familiar yet so foreign, why it thought he was its father.

"Are you the small dog?" Bucky asked the child slowly.

The child smiled and nodded.

New problem.

How was this child the small animal?

"This is impossible. How?"

The child shrugged and smiled. "Magic."

"Magic turned you human?" Bucky was finally starting to get used to the sentient magic robot dating his magical mind reading adopted sister while Norse gods and super soldiers ran around, but this was a level beyond what he was expecting.

"Yeah. Is that why mommy can't look at my head?" He looked over to Wanda.

"It might be. The magic might not be compatible, or whoever did it left some kind of imprint on him and so had to cover it up to remain undetected." Wanda came over.

"Is there any way for you to get past it?" Bucky asked her.

She shook her head. "The wall around him is strong. Too strong for me even."

"Daddy?" The child squeezed his hand a little. "I'm hungry. Do we have to train before eating today?"

"No, we can eat now." He reasoned slowly. He didn't really want to upset the small-animal child, and he didn't feel much like training today at any rate. Too much had already happened, his mind was racing.

The small child clapped happily and he picked it up in his arms, as close to how he did with the small animal as he could manage, and the child wrapped its arms around Bucky's neck.

"You two watch the kid. I'll talk to Stark, see if there's any recorded instances of people who have the power to do this kind of thing." Steve suggested, and Bucky nodded thanks.

"Bye uncle Steve!" The child waved, and Steve smiled a little and waved back before leaving.

Wanda led the way to the cafeteria, and Bucky took the small child to the side room he usually ate in while Wanda got them all food.

"Why do you talk different when Natasha comes in here when you're in here?" The child asked him curiously as he sat down with it in his lap.

"It feels better to talk to her in Russian. More natural I guess." He shrugged.

Wanda came in with breakfast and they sat back and ate. Wanda asked the child in his arms all sorts of questions about its memories and sensations and such, while Bucky just sat back and watched it. He was still trying to adapt to what all was going on, but it was strangely nice having the small animal be able to properly talk back to him for once, and he enjoyed the sound of its voice.

"Do you want us to call you Steve, or do you prefer small dog or little guy or buddy?" Wanda asked curiously.

"Well I like when Bucky calls me small dog. Cause I'm his small dog. But I like when uncle Steve calls me little guy, except I'm not as little anymore, I'm bigger. And I like when Tony and Spider Peter call me buddy, like we're friends. Does Steve feel weird calling me Steve cause his name is Steve?" The small child looked to Bucky.

He nodded. "I think so. He never said so to me, but he makes continuous choking sounds when I call you Steve so I think so."

"You never call me Steve anyways. I'm your small dog." The child hugged him, and he hugged the child back gently, with a slow smile.

He had no idea what was going on.

But for now, until he knew what was happening, it was a small blessing.

* * *

Hey! So, that's it for this chapter. Like I said, there's a lot that can happen with this, and I know there's probably gonna be a few things you guys want to see done with it, so don't hesitate to send me your ideas

Also, if you have any other requests for just general character or plot things going forwards I'd love to see those, or if you have any questions I'll be more than happy to answer them.

Don't forget to be awesome


	31. Chapter 31

Thank you guys so much for the reviews, and especially the critical reviews, I really appreciate that you guys are honest with me and trying to keep me on track with this, I know it came out of left field a bit and I want to do what I can to help you guys like it, or at least tolerate it until I get back to Vicky, who seems to be a crowd favorite.

That being said, this chapter is gonna be more or less more of last chapter, but with some proper plot advancement at the end at least. I'm sorry, this is just how I planned it. Next chapter will be same subplot, but a bit different style-wise, a bit more of the adults talking to each other, and sorting out the whole issue.

Note: yes I mention Strange, no there aren't any spoilers, I'm not that mean, but you all seriously need to go see it if you haven't yet

As always, feel free to leave me reviews, good, bad, ugly, I really do appreciate the constructive criticism from you guys

Extra note: I had this written a week ago but the wifi at the university is garbage so I couldn't upload when I finished it and then exams steamrolled me, so sorry for the late release

And also props to DraejonSoul. I won't tell you why, but you'll get it by the end.

* * *

Steve came back in shortly after they had finished eating. "Hey. How is the little guy?"

"Good, I think. How are you?" Bucky asked the child in his lap.

"Good!" The child smiled.

"That's good." Steve nodded as he sat down.

"How was your search?" Wanda asked him.

"We got nothing. There are a couple people on earth who could maybe do this, but there's only one anywhere in range. He's in New York, Doctor Stephen Strange. We called him, and apparently he's been fighting off demons for a week. He doesn't know of anyone who would've done it either, we asked."

"Any other thoughts? What about someone from outside of earth?" Wanda asked.

"Strange doesn't think that anyone would. It's not that people don't have the power, it's that this isn't their style apparently. Only one he could think of was Loki, and Thor imprisoned him on Asgard. He would tell us if Loki had gotten free again." Steve sighed.

"So what do we do about this? I miss the small dog." Bucky asked.

"We live with it, for now. Maybe something'll turn up." Steve shrugged.

Bucky rubbed the small child's back a little and nodded. "Alright."

"So I did hear right. The puppy's a kid now." Stark walked in.

"Tony!" The child jumped up and hugged him before Bucky could stop him, and Stark stumbled a little.

"Hey kid. Um… go tackle your mom." Tony shooed the small child, and he leapt away from Tony to jump up in Wanda's lap.

"Just thought I'd check up on it. We're sure he's not a robot, with the dog's memories downloaded in?"

Wanda shook her head. "He's human. I can tell."

Stark nodded. "I'm gonna get Banner and go grind at trying to find whoever did this. Don't let him in my lab, I don't want him messing up my stuff." Stark warned Bucky.

"He won't be leaving my side." Bucky assured him.

Stark left, calling for Banner to come join him, and Bucky watched Wanda and the small child.

The child was batting at Wanda's mist with a happy smile, and Bucky could tell from the movement that the child was his small animal. Or at least, had been. And hopefully would be soon.

"Bucky." The child asked him after a while.

"Yes?" He replied.

"I'm hungry. Can we get ice cream?" The child asked with a pout.

"You need to wait until later." Steve said.

"But it's a special day and I'm hungry again and I want ice cream." The child protested.

"Let's get you some ice cream." Bucky held his hand out to the child for it to hold on to, and the child got off of Wanda's lap with a wide smile to take Bucky's hand, and Bucky got up to take him to the cafeteria.

Wanda came with him, also wanting some ice cream, and they each got some. He didn't know how much was strictly proper for the small child, so he just filled a bowl and let him eat what he wanted of it.

They spent another hour in the side room off of the cafeteria, letting the child run around the room and play under their watchful eye as they tried to figure out what else might have done this, but they turned up nothing.

Clint and Natasha walked in and the child ran and hugged Clint. "Hi!"

"Hi." Clint waved. "Who are you?"

"Steve!" The small child beamed before hugging Natasha. "Здравствуйте!" (Hello!)

"Здравствуйте." (Hello.) Natasha replied before looking up at Bucky. "Why does this kid know Russian?"

Bucky was too surprised by that fact to immediately reply.

Wanda replied for him. "Something happened, and… well, that's the small dog."

Natasha picked the child up, and Bucky's eyes narrowed slightly in case she attempted to threaten him.

"So you're the little guy who's been running under my feet." She was smiling, which was a good sign, and the child nodded. "How'd you get like this?"

The child only shrugged. "Ты собираешься поцеловать папу?" (Are you gonna kiss daddy?)

Clint started laughing and took the child from Natasha. "I don't think so kid, not with so many people around. Am I right?" He looked to Bucky and Natasha.

They both nodded.

"You speak Russian too?" The child asked Clint, who sat down carrying him.

"Yes I do. Just like your dad, and Natasha." Clint seemed to be very good with him.

Natasha sat on the arm of the couch Bucky was sitting on. "He calls you his dad?"

Bucky nodded. "It was very frightening to wake up to."

"Sorry daddy!" The child apologized.

"I'm used to it now." Bucky assured him.

"What's Bucky like on missions? Does he fight good?" The child asked Clint, who had been on both of the missions Bucky had gone on.

"He's a very good fighter. He gets very focused, and when he does there's no stopping him. He's good to have on the team." Clint explained.

Bucky had never actually heard what Clint thought of him, and stored it for later.

"What about mom?" The child asked.

"That's me." Wanda explained quickly.

"You're his mom?" Natasha asked her.

"Besides Bucky I spend the most time with him." Wanda explained.

"You're too young to be a mother Wanda." Clint teased her a little, and she rolled her eyes. "Your mom is also a good fighter. She can do almost anything she wants with her magic powers, so when we bring her and Vision on missions we're basically unstoppable."

"At least, when they're not making out behind a wall." Natasha added, and Wanda blushed a little. Natasha was clearly still making her pay for that.

"Child?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah daddy?" The child looked up at him.

"Почему вы спрашиваете, если Наташа собиралась поцеловать меня?" (Why did you ask if Natasha was going to kiss me?) He asked in Russian. He wasn't entirely sure Steve and Wanda needed to understand this conversation. Luckily, the child understood.

"Потому что всякий раз, когда мы приходим в эту комнату и вы ей делать такие вещи, как это." (Because whenever we come to this room you and her do stuff like that.) The child replied.

Bucky and Natasha looked at one another for a moment before looking back to the small child.

"Совпадение" (Coincidence.) Natasha said simply.

"What're you three talking about?" Steve asked.

"When you'll finally get laid." Natasha said to throw Steve off, and it worked.

"Stop talking to a kid about that. That's not child appropriate."

"It isn't?" Bucky made a note not to mention that sort of thing to Vicky.

"Hey all. Bruce kicked me out of the lab." Stark came in, going straight to the liquor behind the bar.

"How's the search going?" Bucky asked him, taking his child back from Clint.

"Not too great so far." Stark shrugged, pouring himself a drink.

"What's that? Can I drink some?" The child asked from Bucky's lap.

"What do you say dad?" Stark asked him.

Bucky shrugged. "Alright."

"No. You can't let a child drink scotch." Wanda interrupted before Stark could start pouring.

"Why not?" The child asked her with a pout.

"Because it's alcohol, and the kid doesn't have a super metabolism to burn it off like we do." Steve backed up Wanda.

The child curled into his lap with a larger pout, and Stark brought over a glass of something else.

"Here. Try this instead."

"Is it alcoholol?" The child asked as he took the glass and drank some.

"Yep." He nodded as he sat back, but everyone except the child could see he was lying.

They sat there quietly for a while. Steve talked to Natasha and Stark about something or another, and Clint pulled arrows out from somewhere and started cleaning them as he watched Wanda create some of her mist to play with the small child, who alternated between playing and drinking whatever it was Stark had given him.

Bucky probably should have asked about that.

Clint's back was to the large window-door at the back of the room, leading out to a training field, and he looked up for a moment before looking back down to his arrows. "Thor's coming."

"How do you-" Steve was cut off by a giant mass of light appearing behind Clint with a loud boom.

Bucky held the child close, staring widely at the sudden appearance, as the tunnel of light behind Clint in the window-door disappeared, leaving a man in a red cape and armor standing in some burnt grass.

Everyone else looked like this was entirely normal, and so Bucky tried to calm down, but his grip on the child was tight in the event that this was going to cause problems.

Steve got up and opened the door for the man to come in. Bucky was guessing this was Thor.

"Greetings fellow Avengers!" He had a very booming voice.

"Hello Thor." Steve greeted him.

Bucky was right.

"How's Asgard?" Clint asked.

"Asgard fares well hawk-eyed one. Things are peaceful across the nine realms. How do you fare on Midgard?" Thor nodded to him.

Steve sat back down with a return nod. "Well, for the most part things have been pretty quiet here. No invasions or big threats, just some..." Steve looked at the small child. "Questions. What brings you here?"

"Loki."


	32. Chapter 32

So I realized when I was writing this chapter that I'd forgotten one important detail: I don't actually know how to write Thor. I did the best I could, I hope you like it, but please don't set your standards too high.

Special credit this chapter to nani'anela, who wrote my primary inspiration for this little miniseries. If you want to see this idea done amazingly well and you're a fan of Supernatural, go check out Paint It Black, it's one of my favorite fanfictions of all time.

Sorry this chapter took so long, I really appreciate all of you who are sticking with it, especially those of you who didn't like this subplot, I promise next time we'll be back to our regular programming

* * *

"What's a Loki?" Bucky asked slowly.

"Remember I told you about New York?" Steve said quietly, and Bucky remembered and nodded.

"Clint where'd that come from?" Wanda asked, and Bucky looked over to see Clint had a bow in his hands, loaded and ready to shoot.

"If Loki is back I'm staying armed." He replied, avoiding the actual question.

"Well this explains a lot at least." Natasha moved on, rubbing the small child's head.

"Whatever do you mean good lady Romanoff?" Thor asked.

"This kid was a dog yesterday. Would Loki do that? Change a dog into a kid?" Steve asked Thor.

Thor contemplated it for a moment. "Perhaps. It is rather like the tricks he attempted as a child." Thor looked to Bucky and the small child.

"Hi!" The kid waved.

"Hello small one." Thor nodded before looking up at Bucky. "Are you the missing friend of the patriotic one?"

"Um… I guess so…" Bucky didn't quite know how to reply.

"Greetings then friend. I am Thor, son of Odin, prince of Asgard." Thor nodded to him.

"I'm Bucky. Friend of Steve, soldier of… winter?"

"I'm Steve too!" The small child grinned from his arms.

"You do not appear to be a miniature form of Rogers." Thor said.

The small child laughed. "No! Daddy named me Steve 'cause he missed his Steve and he wanted a Steve and I was all friendly and loyal like him."

"That's enough." Bucky quieted the child a little.

"What do you know of Loki?" Thor asked the child.

"Is that the man who visited me last night?"

Bucky looked down at the small child, and everyone else looked up at Bucky.

"What do you mean someone visited you last night?" Bucky asked worriedly.

"There was a man. He looked kinda like Thor but skinnier and he didn't have a cape or nothin. He said I needed to go cause mis… misch…"

"Mischief?" Steve guessed, and the child nodded quickly.

"This is most certainly the work of Loki." Thor stated. Bucky was still processing the fact that someone had been in his room last night and could quite easily have killed him.

"Alright. He's probably nearby, watching all of this for kicks. We find him, we take him out. How alive do you want him?" Clint asked Thor.

"I would very much like my brother returned to me alive. He has done much, but he is still my brother."

Clint didn't look too pleased but nodded.

They stood up and stood around the bar to discuss planning on how to potentially find and disable Loki, and return the small dog to its original form.

Bucky had set it on the ground so he could focus on planning, but after a moment noticed its absence, and silence, and looked around for it.

Thor had set his hammer on the edge of the bar, with the strap hanging off, and the child was trying to jump up and reach it.

He smiled a little when the child succeeded, feet dangling in the air.

The hammer shifted and he picked up the child, for fear he would fall and the hammer would come crashing down on his head.

"Be careful. I don't want you hurting yourself."

He noticed everyone staring at him and looked around at them awkwardly.

"What?"

"Did he just move the hammer?" Steve asked.

"Yes… Why…?" Bucky had been told about the magical hammer of course, but he didn't really understand it much. Any unmovable object could be moved with enough force, he had experience with that.

"The kid is worthy. Wow Steve, a kid who used to be a dog is more worthy than you." Natasha teased Steve a little.

"Doesn't count, right? He's technically a dog, dog can't rule Asgard. It's like Vision, he's great, but it doesn't count. He's a robot." Steve argued.

"He's not a robot." Wanda rolled her eyes and threw a bread roll at Steve's head.

"Am I in trouble?" The child asked Bucky softly.

"I'm not really sure." Bucky replied equally softly.

"You are not in trouble young one. Lifting the hammer, even slightly, is a great feat." Thor assured him, and the child smiled a little. "Do you wish to return to your canine form?"

He nodded. "Daddy misses me. I wanna go back."

"Very well. I shall aid you in this quest." Thor nodded to him.

"Why do you talk like that? You talk like daddy used to before he talked to other people, but older." The child asked Thor curiously.

"This is how we speak on Asgard. The people of Midgard, your world, their language developed differently from ours on Asgard." Thor explained, and the child nodded, content.

"So where do we find Loki?" Clint returned them to the subject at hand.

They figured out a plan of attack.

Thor had suggested potentially hurting the child to draw Loki out to defend his work.

Bucky suggested ripping Thor's spine out if he tried.

They didn't end up going with that plan.

They ended up instead splitting up to corner him in.

He was most likely in a security room, where he could watch the security footage from around the compound to keep an eye on his work.

Bucky and Wanda stayed together to watch the small child as they cornered Loki into the room they most suspected he was hiding in.

"You need to stay quiet, alright?" Bucky informed him softly.

"Am I gonna be on a mission with you and mommy?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, and if it's going to go well we need you to stay quiet and keep calm. If anything happens, if it gets bad, run and hide, somewhere he can't find you. Here. Use it if you feel threatened." Bucky handed him one of his knives.

"Bucky-" Wanda started to say something, but was cut off by the small child.

"Wow! Thanks daddy!" The child hugged him tightly, and he hugged the child back with a small smile, feeling the blade of the knife laying flat against his back.

Bucky let go and gestured for the child to stay close to him. "From now on, silence."

The child nodded, and Bucky ignored the look Wanda was giving him to lead the way in.

He waited for the right moment, then right on time with Natasha and Clint to the south and Steve and Thor to the east, he burst into the security room.

There were two SHIELD interns unconscious and tied up in a corner, and a lone chair facing the monitors swiveled towards Bucky, who had his gun raised.

"Oh no." Said the black haired figure in the chair, reclining in a rather bored fashion. "You've caught me."

"Loki?" Thor asked from the door he and Steve were standing in.

"Hello Thor. Goodbye Thor." The doors slammed, pushing Thor, Steve, Clint, Natasha, and Wanda out of the room. Bucky and the small child had been the only ones to step in out of range of the door.

Bucky could hear them banging on the doors, trying to get back in.

He stepped forwards again with his gun poised to shoot the man in the head. "Who are you, and what do you want?" He asked menacingly, and he could feel his soldier mind snapping into action.

"I am Loki, of Asgard. I'm sure you've heard of me by now Barnes." Loki seemed remarkably calm about all of this.

"What do you want?" He repeated.

"Hi funny magic man!" The small child waved from behind Bucky's leg.

"What did I tell you about silence?" Bucky scolded the child gently.

"Oh right, sorry daddy." The child hugged his leg.

"To be perfectly frank, I have no interest in you, or your dog. I needed to get my brother's attention, but killing people would only force him to bring me back to my wretched imprisonment." Loki explained calmly.

"Then why shut him out of the room?" Bucky was suspicious.

"Because I didn't want your new friends to kill me. You at least, I can fight alone, and it is your dog I played around with. Enjoying human form?" Loki looked to the child, who looked up at Bucky.

Bucky gave him a slow nod.

The child smiled at Loki. "Uh huh! I can do stuff I couldn't before, and I can talk to daddy proper now."

"And how is "daddy" coping with the change?" Loki looked back at him.

"I want my small dog back. Change him back, and leave. Do whatever you want with Thor. Just leave us alone, and I won't violently kill you." Bucky warned him.

"Sounds fair to me." Loki shrugged, raising his hand.

"Wait!" The child stopped him for a moment, and jumped up to grab Bucky's arm and bring him down to his knees, so he was closer to the child's height, and the child hugged him tightly.

"I love you daddy. I've got you, okay?"

Bucky kept a sharp eye on Loki, but hugged the child back. "I love you too."

The child hugged him a little tighter before running to the door he had come through, where Wanda was trying to get in. "Love you mommy!"

He ran back to stand in front of Loki. "Okay now you can do your magic-y stuff and make me a dog again."

Loki stared at him for a moment before going for it, and in a blink of his eyes Bucky saw the small animal on the ground in front of him, jumping around happily and barking, and Loki was gone, replaced by a small note with some runes on it.

The doors all burst open.

"Where'd he go?!" Clint looked around everywhere, bow raised ready for action.

"The small dog is back!" Wanda knelt down, and the small dog jumped into her arms, licking her face happily and barking.

Bucky picked up the note and handed it to Thor. "I'm guessing this is for you. Loki said this whole thing was just an effort to get your attention."

"Very well. Thank you then friend Barnes. I must be off, to find Loki before he causes any more mischief." Thor nodded to him.

"Have fun. Don't bring him back here." Bucky said calmly, and Thor nodded and said his goodbyes quickly before leaving to go… wherever he was going.

"What happened?" Steve approached him.

He put his gun away. "He told me he was here for Thor, no interest in myself or the small dog, just needed to get his attention. Changed the small dog back, and vanished."

"Think he'll come back?"

"I threatened to violently kill him, so no, not unless he wants me to try."

Steve nodded a little. "Are you okay?"

Bucky looked back at Wanda and the small animal, and took it from her gently with a brief nod to Steve to assure him that yes, he was okay now.

The small animal licked his face happily and curled up in his arms.

Yes.

He was okay now.

* * *

Next time, back to Angie and Vicky! If there's anything you guys want to see with them, let me know, I have some plans but I also have some room to be flexible, so lemme know

Also feel free to drop me a line on questions or whatever, I'll answer any you might have, and if you have any ideas just in general let me know

How do you guys feel about Bucky and Natasha pulling a Steve-and-Natasha-on-an-escalator on their next mission?


	33. Chapter 33

This is a bit awkward but this chapter was only supposed to be the montage before the next chapter. This whole thing was going to be a lot smaller, and precede the party next chapter. Then... I don't know, I guess they just ran away from me. Not that I'm complaining, it means I have a chapter done for you guys before the week is even finished. Now that I'm back in university, and have super long breaks between classes, I should be a bit more regular.

Thank you! I got feedback! Yes! I know a lot of you weren't fond of that little subplot, but for those of you that stuck with it, thank you, and don't worry, we're back to our regularly scheduled programmi- HAIL HYDRA

Sorry, don't know where that came from. Anyway...

Enjoy!

* * *

It was two days after the Loki incident that Bucky returned to visit Angela and Vicky, with the small animal in tow.

Vicky was absolutely delighted with the small animal's presence, rolling around on the floor with it and petting it incessantly.

Angela was also fond of the small animal, though to a lesser extent, content with just watching Vicky play with it while she took a break and relaxed for a while, listening to Bucky tell the tale of what had happened to it with an amused smile.

On the next visit the Vision was off on a mission without Wanda, so she insisted on coming along.

She and Angela got along well, and the time they spent talking they seemed to grow fond of each other, but Wanda spent most of her time playing with Vicky. She told Bucky later that it felt good to see Vicky, a perfectly normal child, happy to see her powers and happy to spend time with her. Bucky had to agree, it seemed to have done Wanda good to interact with civilians who weren't scared of her.

Steve came the next visit. It was a pleasant change for both of them to see that most of Steve's fame came from being attached to Bucky, and not the other way around.

Vicky was tired that visit, so she spent most of the day clinging to Bucky's leg or falling asleep in his lap while Angela and Steve helped him remember things that had happened during the war, mostly just details he had missed or things he hadn't thought about yet.

The next visit he came alone. The small animal had been asleep when he left, and when he'd passed Wanda's door he could hear the Vision inside so he let them be.

He knocked on the door, and Angela opened it with a tired smile. "Hey Bucky."

"Hi Angela." He smiled back a little.

He stepped in and Vicky jumped at his leg, grabbing on and sliding down to the floor. "Hi!"

"Hi Vicky. You're energetic today." He noted.

"Uh huh!" She grinned, and he noticed a large gap in her teeth. "I lost a tooth last night and the tooth fairy gave me two whole dollars!"

"The what?" Bucky was worried. At this point, he could believe the existence of fairies, but he didn't quite grasp the concept of what this fairy was supposed to do, and whether it was a danger to Vicky or not.

"The tooth fairy! When you lose a tooth you put it under your pillow and the tooth fairy comes and takes it and gives you money for it because she's nice." Vicky explained.

"But why does she want the teeth?" Human bones were usually not things one wanted to collect unless you were trying to conduct some creepy ritual.

"Vicky, honey, go get dressed." Angela nodded to her gently, sounding very amused. Vicky squeezed his leg before letting go and running off to her room.

"I don't understand. Why does the fairy want the teeth?" Bucky asked Angela.

"There isn't really a fairy. It's just something parents tell their kids, so when they start losing teeth they have something to look forward to. I just put two dollars under her pillow." Angela explained.

That made a lot more sense.

"Oh. Thank you." Bucky nodded to her a little.

Angela smiled a little and nodded in return. "What brings you over? Just needed to get out of the compound for a while?"

"Yeah. Is there anything you needed? I might be able to help, while I'm here." Bucky offered.

"Umm…" Angela looked around. "Actually, you know what, there is something. Could you take Vicky out for a while? Just a couple hours? Take her to the park or something, just keep her occupied? I need to clean this place a bit, but I don't like having the cleaning things out around her, they're supposed to be child friendly but you never know nowadays."

"I can take her out." He nodded.

"Thank you so much." She sighed in relief.

"Is there anything I should keep in mind?"

"Just keep her away from traffic, strangers, general dangerous things. If you want to take her more through the city you can, just keep her close, she can get a bit excited sometimes and run off. She can bring her money with her, so if she sees something she'd like she can buy it. She'll probably be hungry around noon, I can give you money to get some lunch if you want."

Bucky shook his head. "Now that I'm sort of an Avenger I have a paycheck that I never use. I can pay."

"Right. Okay." She nodded a little.

Vicky came out of her room in new clothes, jeans and a bright blue shirt.

"Honey, uncle Bucky is going to take you out for a while." Angela informed her.

Vicky cheered and jumped in a small circle in celebration.

Angela smiled a little and went to a closet to get out a pink jacket, and helped Vicky put it on.

Vicky put on her shoes herself, and Angela got her a small backpack.

"Her money is in here, along with her health card, a granola bar, and my phone number." She informed Bucky. "If you need anything, call me."

"I will." Bucky nodded.

"I love you Vicky." She knelt and kissed Vicky's head.

"Love you too mommy!" Vicky smiled before running to Bucky's side, and Bucky nodded to Angela.

"I'll take care of her."

"Thank you." She smiled again.

He nodded and led Vicky out.

It was a nice day, and Vicky seemed very eager to run around, so he opted not to take her on his bike and instead walked through the area.

She wanted to go to a local toy store to spend her "tooth fairy money", so he let her lead the way there. This led to them taking several wrong turns, and spending much more time than needed walking around Queens. He remembered Bruce telling him there was a map function on his phone, and finally just gave up and consulted the map for directions.

Vicky found a little stuffed bear she liked, and could afford, and proceeded to name it Cuddles and carry it with her for the rest of the day.

By the time they left, due to the amount of time it had taken to get there, it was noon, and Bucky took Vicky to the fast food place she insisted on going to.

It wasn't until they got there that Bucky finally noticed people staring at him, and remembered he hadn't worn a hoodie, and was just in a black t-shirt, with nowhere to hide the metal arm. He was going to go and look for a hoodie to hide it when Vicky discovered that the tiny plastic doll she'd gotten with her food had a magnet on its feet, and proceeded to invent a fantasy adventure that involved Bucky's arm as the terrain of the world.

Bucky understood why Wanda felt it so calming to interact with civilians now, at least civilians who had no fear. It was a reassurance that you weren't just a weapon.

Once they had finished eating they walked around the city for another hour before Vicky started getting tired, and asked to ride on his back. He knelt to pick her up, and sat her on his shoulders, being careful of the extra height and making sure he didn't drop her.

He took her off and just held her in his arms once they got to her apartment building, and he knocked on the door.

Angela answered, hair now tied back away from her face. "Hey. Have a good day out?"

He nodded. "Vicky bought herself a bear, we got some food, and we walked around. She's nearly asleep."

"Alright. Her bedroom's in there if you just want to put her to bed." Angela nodded to Vicky's room.

Bucky took Vicky in and laid her down, setting her backpack and shoes aside.

She curled up, hugging her new bear, and fell asleep almost instantly.

Bucky tucked her in before joining Angela on the couch.

"How was she? Did she behave?" Angela asked.

He nodded. "She caused me no trouble. How were things here?"

"Good, I got everything done that I needed to. Thanks for taking her out, I really needed that." She gave him a relieved smile.

"Not a problem." He nodded again.

She leaned on him and he put his arm around her. She relaxed into his arms.

His phone rang with a text.

He looked at it. It was from Steve, Stark had informed him of another party in a week's time, and was asking if Bucky wanted to invite Angela.

"Angela?"

"Yeah Bucky?"

"Stark is having another party in a week. We can bring people. Do you want to come?"

She sighed a little. "I would, but who would watch Vicky? I'm guessing I can't bring her."

"Maybe you could. Or someone could come stay with her. Wanda might be too young for this party, or Peter could watch her. I've left the small dog with him a few times, he seems to be reliable."

"Who's Peter?" She looked up at him.

"Parker is his last name. He's 16." He explained.

"Peter Parker… I know that name. Does he live with his aunt May?"

"I think so." He nodded. "How do you know him?"

"He lives down the street. Vicky's always saying hi to him if we're out when he's getting home from school, he gave her a broken circuit board to put on her wall one time. How do you know him?"

"Stark brought him in to join the Avengers because of his spider powers."

She sat up. "Peter is Spider-Man?"

In hindsight he recognized that information should probably have been a secret. "Yes."

She processed that. "Wow. Okay… Are any of my other neighbors or friends also superheroes? Is my ex-boyfriend secretly like a "Doctor Doom" or something?"

Bucky shook his head. "I don't think so. We looked into your ex, he isn't a… "Doctor Doom". Is that a villain you've heard of?"

"No, just making things up. That would be a great villain name." She relaxed back against him.

He nodded. "Very imposing. What should I tell Steve about your attendance?"

"Put me down as a solid maybe."

He texted Steve accordingly.

* * *

And that's that!

If there's anything you'd like to see at the party, let me know, I already have a couple plans but there's still plenty of room for more, and if you have any suggestions for anything up ahead we can arrange that too

I have a couple nice heart wrenching surprises planned that should get me back into the swing of things


	34. Chapter 34

Hey! What's up? How's it going? Great to hear. Unless it's not going well, then hopefully it gets better soon

Here's the chapter that was supposed to be last chapter, I'm typing this before my lecture starts so I can get this out to you guys asap

If it feels, too fluffy, don't worry.

Something *cough*hail hydra*cough* is coming.

* * *

In the end, Angela did decide to come.

A day and a half before the party was due to start Angela asked Bucky if he could come with her and Vicky to go shopping, since she didn't have any formal clothing and the party was cocktail.

Steve found out he was going and asked if Bucky wanted him to come too, partly Bucky suspected so that he could get off the compound, there hadn't been a mission for a while, and when Bucky asked Angela she said sure and let Steve come.

Natasha found out what was going on and invited herself to come. Neither Bucky nor Angela asked her to come, but it was good she did since she needed advice on what to buy for the party and Steve and Bucky were not exactly knowledgeable about clothing.

They kept an eye on Vicky while Natasha helped Angela figure out how to dress formally. Angela was as clueless as they were about those sorts of things.

Natasha got on well with Angela, and with Vicky, though Vicky was a little intimidated by her and only quietly said hello., though she asked Bucky later if he liked red hair since both his girlfriend and favorite niece had red hair. He reminded her that no, Natasha was not his girlfriend, but yes he supposed he did like red hair.

Angela asked him if Natasha was his girlfriend as well, to which he replied no and moved on. Natasha seemed amused by the question at this point, joking that by now they might as well be, but she moved on to complimenting a particular dress Angela had tried on and Vicky took Bucky and Steve to go get some ice cream since she was bored and wanted to leave.

Angela agreed to letting Peter watch Vicky for the night. Bucky issued him a calm threat in case he failed to protect Vicky, but Angela chided him for it and assured Peter that everything would be fine. Bucky gave Peter a look to make sure he knew the threat still stood.

Wanda suggested that since they were all going to be at the party besides Peter, Bucky could drop the small animal off with him and Vicky for the night and pick it up when he brought Angela back home. He agreed that this was a good plan, and asked the small animal to watch over Vicky and bite Peter if he screwed up taking care of them. It barked in reply and licked his face.

He and Steve drove to Angela's to pick her up. When they came up, Angela was in the process of giving Peter the same speech she'd given Bucky about how to take care of Vicky.

Vicky jumped up at Bucky. "Hi uncle Bucky!"

"Hi Vicky." He picked her up in his arms. "How are you?"

"I'm losing another tooth! Look!" She opened her mouth to show him where a tooth was hanging from her mouth by a few bits of muscle.

"Do you want me to take it out for you?" He offered.

She giggled. "No silly. It has to fall out otherwise you only get one dollar for it 'stead of two."

He nodded a little.

"You two look charming." Angela smiled at him and Steve, who were both in their suits.

"So do you ma'am." Steve nodded to Angela, who was wearing the white and red dress Natasha had picked out for her.

"Thanks." She smiled a little.

The small animal barked from his side and jumped up at his leg, and Vicky reached for it. "Puppy!"

Bucky set her down on the floor and she hugged it tightly.

"Peter, any questions?" Angela checked with Peter, who was standing awkwardly in the middle of the living room.

"No ma'am." He shook his head.

"Remember. Hand, throat." Bucky reminded Peter, who quickly nodded.

"Bucky, he'll be fine." Angela assured him, putting her shoes on.

"He'd better." Bucky warned Peter.

They left and drove to the party.

Wanda hugged Angela the moment she saw her, and Bucky smiled a little at his families getting along so well. He was glad they liked each other.

Natasha was busy talking to Clint and the woman he'd seen him with at the last party at the bar, but she nodded to Angela, and Angela nodded back.

The music was loud, in a variety of styles, and Stark eventually confided him that Steve had asked him to keep it varied so he and Bucky could adjust to the music they had missed.

There were lots of people standing around holding cocktails, but there were also a good few dancing near the center of the room.

Everyone was dressed very nicely, not in full length formal dresses and tuxedos but in nice suits and shorter dresses or skirts.

Bucky needed a few minutes to watch the party before he was really going to join in, so Steve took Angela to the bar, and it was close enough that Bucky could still keep an eye on her and listen out for trouble.

Steve got sidelined talking to some of the SHIELD recruits, and so didn't notice right away when Stark approached Angela, who was standing by the bar silently waiting for a drink.

"Hello there." He started, sidling up next to her.

"Tony Stark, hi." She smiled, seeming surprised but not threatened.

"My fame precedes me." Stark smiled back.

"Of course, you're constantly on the news. Scandals, charity efforts, and obviously you being Iron Man."

"What can I say, I like attention." Stark shrugged. "I wish I could say I knew as much about you. What's your name?" He segued smoothly.

"Angela. It's nice to meet you." Bucky could tell she had intended for Stark to take her hand for a handshake, but he raised it and kissed it suavely.

"Pleasure to meet you too Angela."

"Stark what are you doing?" Steve finally noticed, and that kept Bucky from intervening for now.

"Doing things you will never understand. This lovely young lady and I are getting to know each other." Stark explained with the grin he used whenever he was poking fun at Steve, something he recognized from his own past of nudging Steve when he would do something particularly stupid.

"You don't want to do that." Steve advised him.

"Why not?"

"Well first of all, she's a single mom." Steve started.

"I can dig the sexy mom vibe." Stark winked at Angela, who rolled her eyes with a smile, enjoying this more than she was trying to let on. "How old?"

"She's four now, the little rascal."

"That's sweet." Stark smiled.

"And she's Bucky's niece." Steve added.

Stark's face changed. "Wait, what?"

"Yep. Great grandma Rebecca was his sister." Angela nodded.

Stark spotted Bucky watching nearby, most definitely in earshot, and Bucky could see his mind working to change his tactics.

"I'm guessing he's a very protective uncle?"

"I'd say so, yeah. Why?" Angela nodded.

"Cause I was gonna give you my number. How dead will that make me?" Stark was still trying to flirt with her. Part of him was insisting that no, this was a terrible idea, he had to stop it, but on the other hand he was very impressed, and decided to let Angela see the conversation through herself.

"Pretty dead. But I'm sure a man like Tony Stark is used to death threats, especially when it comes to women." Angela was flirting back. Unbelievable.

Even more unbelievable was the fact that he didn't entirely mind. Angela had "mad game", as he'd learned it was now called, and she seemed to be having fun, which is what he supposed this party was for.

"That I am." Stark smiled.

Steve was just staring between them wondering what Angela was doing.

Angela took her phone out of her small bag and handed it to him. "I believe you wanted to give me your number?"

Stark typed something, presumably his phone number, into her phone, and handed it back to her.

"If you get any time off from that kid of yours, shoot me a text." Stark winked at her.

This was truly unbelievable.

"I'll think about it." Angela smiled.

Stark left her, and Bucky joined her at the bar. "What was that?"

"Bucky! Hi. I thought you were still adapting, getting used to the unfamiliar space and all that."

"I was. And you were flirting with Stark."

She slowly nodded. "It's been a while since I actually flirted with anyone, it was nice. Sort of confidence boosting."

That was good then, she deserved to have a great deal of confidence.

"I'm glad then. Do you plan on texting him?"

"I have no idea, I just didn't know what else to do. What's he like really? Is he as cocky and playboy-ish as everyone says?" She asked him curiously.

Yes. "He's very cocky. Everything he does is absolutely right. As for being a playboy… I haven't seen him with any women, not like that, but I don't spend much time with him, only when I have to, or when I go to look for Bruce at their lab."

She nodded a little, and nodded thanks to the bartender who brought her the drink she ordered.

"Steve?" He figured he really should ask.

"Yeah Buck?" Steve looked over at him.

"Who is that with Barton?" He nodded to the woman.

"That's his wife." Steve explained this as if Bucky knew Barton had a wife. He did not.

"They look good together." Angela noted.

"How long has he had a wife?" Bucky needed more information.

"I don't really know. They've got three kids now, so a little while. He doesn't talk about them much, I think he's trying to keep them separate from the Avengers." Steve explained.

That made more sense.

They stayed by the bar for a while, watching Steve talk to SHIELD people, and trying to figure out how exactly to party, when Bucky heard a familiar dance song come on. It sounded very much like the 1940s to his ear, and he remembered one thing people did at parties.

"Dance with me?" He offered Angela his hand.

"What?" She was surprised.

"People dance at parties. Do you want to dance with me?" He offered again.

"Um… okay?" She took his hand, and he pulled her to the dancing area.

He remembered most of the steps, and how to put them to music, and soon found himself teaching those steps to Angela, who was laughing and trying to master them.

He couldn't help but smile a little as well, and twirled her around.

He spotted Wanda and the Vision nearby, also attempting to dance, along with Steve and a blonde woman Steve had mentioned once or twice as having lied to him about being a nurse and lived next-door to him before he moved to the compound, and a few other people Bucky didn't know.

By the end of the song Angela was laughing but very out of breath, and Bucky brought her back to the bar to rest for a moment.

"That was great." She said finally once she was breathing regularly. "I didn't know you could dance like that."

"Dance used to be part of any successful bachelor's toolkit." He explained.

"You must've been really successful then."

"I think I was." He nodded.

"That was so much fun." She smiled.

He nodded a little. He had very much enjoyed himself. "It was."

They relaxed there for a moment before Clint and his wife came over.

"Hey Barnes. Barnes guest." Clint nodded to the both of them.

"Barton. Barton's wife I didn't know about until tonight." Bucky nodded to them in return.

Clint's wife smiled. "I'm Laura."

"Nice to meet you Laura, I'm Angela." Angela shook her hand with a smile.

"Are you Bucky's date?" Laura asked curiously.

"I'm his niece." She explained. "Give or take a few generations."

"Oh right, I think Clint told me about that." Laura nodded.

"How much have you told her exactly?" Bucky asked Clint. He wanted to get a sense of how Laura Barton saw him, and right now she was interacting mostly with Angela.

"Only what affects me. You told me about Angela and Vicky on a mission." Clint explained.

Bucky nodded, satisfied.

"How old is Vicky?" Laura asked.

"She's four, last October."

"We should meet up some time. Lila is five, they could have a playdate, and we could get coffee or something." Laura offered.

"That would be great." Angela smiled.

Bucky was pleased Angela was making friends, getting along with people. He wanted her to feel comfortable.

She, Laura, and Clint talked about parenting and knowing people who were Avengers for most of the rest of the party, and Wanda eventually came over once Vision had left and leaned on Bucky, adding occasionally to the conversation but mostly just resting from the long night.

He could see Angela getting tired as well, and quietly offered her a ride home. She accepted, and said goodbye to Wanda and the Bartons. Stark was nearby, on their way out, and winked at her as she passed. Angela smiled a little. Bucky glowered a little.

He took her out to a car, since where she was wearing a dress he doubted she wanted to ride with him on his bike, and drove her home.

"Hey uncle Buck?" She looked over at him on the way.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." She smiled a little. "I needed that. It's been a while since I got out of the house for anything besides work."

"Stark is the one who planned the party, and Steve is the one who suggested I invite you-"

"Bucky, take the compliment." She recommended gently, and he nodded. "You've been great to have around. It was… hard, trying to be a mom on my own, but you've been so helpful and supportive. Thank you."

He was a little surprised, he never really thought he was improving her life, just keeping it from being worse. "You're welcome."

She stretched a little, and she looked very tired.

"Go to sleep." He suggested.

"I can wait until I get home." She shrugged.

She looked like she would fall asleep at any moment, but she managed to stay awake until they got back to her apartment.

Vicky and the small animal were curled up on the floor, playing with a ball, also looking like they were going to fall asleep, and Peter was sitting on the couch watching them, with a textbook and notebook open in front of him.

"Hey Peter." Angela nodded to him as she picked up Vicky.

"Hi miss Barnes." Peter nodded to her quickly.

"Miss Cole." She corrected gently. "How was Vicky?"

"Great. She helped me study for my math test on Tuesday."

"He's gonna do algezebras." Vicky murmured tiredly from Angela's arms.

"And you're going to go to bed." Angela took her in.

Bucky knelt down and picked up the small animal. "Hey."

The small animal barked happily and licked his face.

"How was everything? Did he behave?" He asked it, scratching behind its ears.

It barked in reply. It seemed happy, so he supposed things had gone well.

"Good work. Do you need to get paid?" He asked Peter. He didn't really know how that worked, he'd never done the whole babysitting thing.

"Uh, if you want." Peter looked nervous.

Bucky handed him a few bills from his wallet, which Peter stared at for a moment before pocketing. "Thanks Bucky!"

He nodded, and Angela came out. "Right, how much do I owe you Peter?"

"Bucky just paid me, like two hundred bucks."

"What?" Angela looked over at Bucky.

He'd forgotten his bills were hundreds.

"I just gave him money, I didn't count it."

"Right. Okay. Um… Thanks for staying Peter, I really appreciate it."

"Any time miss Ba- Cole. Miss Cole. Except, you know, sometimes I'm busy with… stuff."

"I told her you're the Spider Child."

"Spider-Man…" Peter muttered.

"I'll call you if I need you, now go home and get some rest."

"Thanks. Good night all." Peter gathered his things and left.

Angela let her hair down and shook it out a bit. "You should go home too Bucky, it's getting late."

"Alright." He nodded.

"Thanks… for everything." She smiled at him a little, and he hugged her. He was getting better at knowing when hugging was appropriate.

He eventually let go and took the small animal home.

Steve met him on his way to his room.

"Hey Buck?"

Bucky looked up. "Yeah?"

"Stark just called a meeting. Said he and Bruce found something."

* * *

If you liked it, let me know, if you didn't like it let me know that too, and if you have any questions or suggestions let me know all of those

Hope you enjoyed!


	35. Chapter 35

Hey all, how's it going?

I know I got quite a few requests to go more Bucktasha/WinterWidow with this, and originally I said no, but I keep finding places to work it in so...

Also some of you may have noticed I changed the rating on this from K+ to T. When I wrote this scene I realized I didn't know the guidelines for how much Bucktasha I could put in a K+ rating, so I decided to check, and discovered that this has been a low-level T story for a very long time and just never got changed over, so sorry about that.

Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

Bucky took the small animal to the lab with him and set it down on the nearest table, where it sat down and pawed at Bucky's hand until he started rubbing its head. The other Avengers were there already, along with Wanda and the Vision.

"What's going on?" Steve asked.

"You know how we created an algorithm to try to locate magic users when Lassie got turned human?" Stark asked.

Bucky guessed Lassie was in reference to the small animal, and they all nodded.

"We altered the program to cast a wider net, trying to figure out if we could find anyone who might be a potential threat." Bruce explained.

"That sounds an awful lot like the kind of thing SHIELD went down for." Steve protested a little.

"You'll be thankful we did it when we show you what we found." Stark pulled something off of a computer screen and projected it into the air in front of them.

It looked like-

"A Hydra database." Stark explained.

"We're only in the first level, but we can access some of their communications, and we're working on going deeper." Bruce added.

"Are they planning anything?" Clint asked.

"Not that we can see yet, but they're talking about a plan. We just don't know what it is."

He could feel Wanda pushing into his head a little and looked over at her with a silent stern look.

She stopped pushing, but looked very worried about him.

"Can I interact with this projection?" Bucky asked, looking back at Bruce and Stark.

"Go ahead." Stark waved him on.

He scanned through the database until he found what he was looking for. "Access to what they're planning. I can't take you any further than that, but it's all there."

"Thanks." Bruce nodded to him.

"Until we have any intel, we're all on standby. The minute we know what they're planning we gear up, all of us. Got it?" Steve planned.

"Whatever you say chief." Natasha nodded, and they all nodded in agreement.

Everyone went their separate ways, and Wanda came over and hugged him.

"Are you alright Bucky?"

"I thought I told you not to get in my head. You know what happens." He hugged her back gently.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about, and I was worried about you."

"I don't care, you stay out of my head Wanda."

She sighed. "Are you alright?"

"For now. We have a clear mission, we find out what Hydra wants and we stop them."

The small animal appeared to be having a conversation with the Vision behind them.

Wanda stayed in Bucky's arms but looked over at him. "Are you talking to him Vision?"

The Vision looked up. "I believe so. Once your companion was made human I realized communication was quite likely possible. I'm not good at it, but I think I can understand the meaning of what he's saying."

"What is it saying?" Bucky asked, rubbing its head.

"He is also worried about you. Hydra seems to scare him."

Bucky picked it up gently and held it to his chest. "Don't be scared. I'm here, I'll protect you."

It curled up against his heart and closed its eyes, and he rubbed its head gently.

It was two days before they found anything.

He visited Angela in the meantime to let her know what was going on and leave the small animal with them, and she wished them all luck, and Vicky offered him her tooth for good luck, which had finally come out.

He politely declined, but thanked her for offering.

He could tell Angela was worried, but he assured her there was no need, he could handle himself, and he had the others there with him.

They finally found the plan of attack, and they were all very glad they did. A group of Hydra soldiers were going to attack the American embassies in a few key locations around the world.

They split up into teams, with himself and Natasha on one team, Clint and the Vision on another, Steve and Wanda in a third, and Stark and Bruce running backup. They considered calling in the Spider-Man, but Bucky remembered he'd been studying for a math test and they decided not to bother him.

He and Natasha flew out to England, and when they landed he wished he'd had Steve with him to see this. It had changed since the war, but it still felt familiar.

Natasha noticed, and offered to kidnap Steve and bring him in after the mission was over. He was never sure if this was her sense of humor or if she was very into committing crimes.

They found the embassy, and made arrangements to stay in the hotel down the street. The top floor had a good view of the embassy, so they stayed up there, and took it in turns watching it through the night. They didn't talk much, and Bucky appreciated the silence, focusing in on the mission and trying to keep himself balanced between himself and the soldier, a line which he thought would have grown more pronounced as he got better but instead seemed to be blurring.

During the day they went outside and tried to look like a couple of tourists, staying within earshot of the embassy at all times.

"Three hostiles to your one o'clock." Natasha said over his earpiece eventually, and he looked over. Sure enough, there were three Hydra soldiers there, also looking like they were trying to blend in, but definitely concealing weapons.

He spotted another four behind them. "Four more to your six."

"I see them. I'm coming to you."

Natasha came over to him and leaned on the wall next to him, watching over the terrain. They spotted another three coming from their north.

"Do we take them now?"

Natasha shook her head. "If they don't make the first move we can't do anything, otherwise we're the aggressors. It'd get us in a heap of legal trouble."

One of the Hydra soldiers started looking their way. The two of them were trying to look inconspicuous, but he was the winter soldier and she was the black widow, the odds of that really working were low.

"Bucky?"

"Natasha?"

"поцелуй меня, прежде чем они заметят нас." (Kiss me before they see us.)

Bucky knew she'd done this to Steve to avoid Hydra capture once before, and kissed her.

Her arms laid over his shoulders and his hands went around her waist as they kissed, and he turned so she could watch out for the soldiers over his shoulder.

She tapped his shoulder when they were clear and he stopped, not letting go yet in case it was a false alarm.

"Are we clear?" He asked her quietly.

She nodded. "They're moving on the embassy, let's go."

He led the way inside, and Natasha was right, all of them were inside.

They milled around with the small crowd of people inside, keeping an eye on the soldiers.

A couple of them started to pull guns.

"Now?" He looked to Natasha.

"Now." She nodded, and they split up to start taking the soldiers down.

He grabbed one's head and hit it against the wall to knock him unconscious, and used that soldier's gun to hit another one in the head, sending him to the ground.

Most of the civilians got the hint that something was going on and started screaming and running out the door, leaving them plenty of room to fight.

There were, however, more Hydra soldiers here than they had anticipated, and they stayed separated for a while as they fought them off.

Bucky managed not to kill any of them, something Steve had stressed very heavily before the mission, and once numbers got lower he and Natasha met back up in the middle of the room as she jumped off of a falling body.

"How many have you got down?" She asked him as she threw a few kicks.

"Seven, you?" He punched one of them into submission.

"Nine. You need to catch up Barnes." She taunted as she swung her leg around a soldier's neck and hooked him to the ground.

"If I get more down than you, do I get a prize?" He wrested a knife away and slashed it.

"We'll make out some time, sound good?" She offered as she knocked the man on the ground unconscious.

"Deal. Was I really that bad?" Someone opened fire and they both jumped behind a help desk.

"Well you're better than Steve, I'll give you that much, but your technique could use some work. Push the table out on three."

She held up consecutive fingers to count to three, and they pushed the desk out to knock the shooter off balance, and Bucky shot him in the hand, knee, and shoulder, making him drop the gun and hit the ground.

There were only a few left, and they took them down with relative ease.

Bucky finished shortly before Natasha and sat down, cleaning off his knife.

She walked over to him with a hand on her hip. "Final count, 17."

"Oh, sorry. 20. Should I have saved you one?" Bucky teased.

"Good work." She nodded to him, and he held his hand up for a high five. She high fived him with a smile. "So when are we sucking each other's faces?"

"After we get the blood off." Bucky shrugged.

They sorted things out with the authorities and made contact with the rest of the team, who had apparently finished hours earlier and been picked up by Stark and Banner in the Quinjet. They agreed to meet up with Bucky and Natasha at the hotel and fly out from there back to the compound.

They had the boy downstairs bring their bags down and got in the elevator a moment later.

They were alone in the elevator, and after a moment Bucky looked over at Natasha. "Now?"

"Now works." She nodded.

They were on each other instantly, colliding roughly in the middle of the elevator. She wrapped a leg around him, he wrapped his arms around her. He slid his real hand into her hair to tug at it a little, and she bit his lip in reply.

He was starting to understand what the big deal was about kissing. He liked this.

The elevator stopped and they let go of each other. He fixed his shirt, and she fixed her hair, and the doors opened to reveal most of the team nearby, who began staring at them all.

He gestured for Natasha to walk out first and she strolled right past the team. "Let's go, we haven't got all day folks."

Everyone looked between her and Bucky in surprise and confusion. They'd apparently seen the tail end of their making out in the elevator.

"What?" He decided nonchalance was probably the best policy here.

"Were you two…?" Wanda started to ask.

"Did you…?" Steve also started.

"I'll take that fifty you owe me Doctor Banner." Stark held out his hand to Bruce.

"You had a bet?" Bucky looked to him.

"I knew you two had to get it on eventually. No wonder it took you so long to handle the embassy." Stark grinned at him.

Bucky rolled his eyes. "Keep your fifty Banner."

"Hang on, you and Romanoff aren't-" He cut Stark off.

"We aren't anything." He said smoothly. "She's right, we haven't got all day." He walked out, and they all followed.

When he got back and told Angela and Vicky about all of this they were absolutely delighted that he now had a girlfriend. When Bucky went to correct them Angela quietly indicated that he shouldn't do so in front of Vicky, and so he let her believe he and Natasha were a couple for now. Angela assured him she sort of understood, about as well as he could, and he took the small animal home to train.

Two days later he was walking past the lab when he heard Stark muttering in frustration about something, and decided to check in on him.

He helped the small animal up on the counter. "How are things Stark?"

"They're fine. Your Hydra database is just giving me a run around."

"Is there anything I can do?" He offered, and the small animal barked, presumably to pledge its support as well.

"Don't think so, I just need to figure this out. Here, I got through their coding, but all I can find is this." Stark projected some words up into the air. "Queens. Strategic importance. 204. Secure them." Stark read out.

He latched on to that number. He knew it from somewhere, he'd seen it on a door-

Bucky ran.

* * *

Oh dearie me, is someone in danger? Oh no, what a terrible shame...

As always, please feel free to leave me any reviews you'd like, I love reading what you guys have to say, feel free to leave questions, comments, and suggestions for future chapters, I love working those in as well as I can

So long, farewell, Hail Hydra.


	36. Chapter 36

Oh how I've missed this. It feels so good to be so bad. Fluff is nice, but the pain is just so much better.

Special thanks to all of you who told me you really enjoyed Vicky and Angela for prompting me to do this, I really enjoyed it.

Leave a comment below if you liked it, or if you didn't, or if I hurt you, any of those works

Enjoy!

* * *

He arrived in the garage quickly, to be met by Wanda, who had presumably sensed the shift in his mind as his senses focused in on the problem.

"Bucky what's going on?"

"Hydra, Angela and Vicky." He explained quickly, getting on his bike and speeding away.

He could feel her in his head still and shook her off. He needed to focus.

He got to the apartment in minutes, and he could tell already that Hydra was here. There were two black unmarked cars outside, with the doors left partially open from haste.

He heard screaming and ran upstairs.

There were ten Hydra soldiers in all, in masks and combat gear, four in the hall outside the apartment and six more moving around audibly inside.

Bucky was glad he never listened to Steve and still carried a gun on him at all times.

He shot two of the soldiers through their masks, and pulled his knife as the other two attacked, narrowing in to their weaknesses and stabbing them both in the neck through the gap in their armor.

Another soldier ran out the door to deal with the situation and Bucky shot him in the head cleanly.

When his body dropped Bucky could see inside, where two soldiers were restraining Angela, who was screaming, two soldiers were restraining Vicky, whose leg was bleeding, and one soldier had now spotted him.

He started shooting at Bucky and he ducked behind the doorframe, waiting for a moment before darting around the corner and shooting him in the hand, leg, and head.

One of the soldiers on Vicky started to stand and Bucky kicked him in the head, shot the other man holding Vicky, and shot the first one.

The men on Angela were smarter, and ran for the window, jumping out before Bucky could shoot them.

He was going to follow when Angela grabbed his arm for support, and he had to catch her shoulders.

"Angela?"

"Bucky- they came, I couldn't stop them- thank god, Bucky. Bucky, Vicky." She clung to him, crying, as she tried to kneel down, and he helped her down and looked Vicky over.

Her leg was a mess, soaked in blood, and he couldn't tell where the injury had originated because Vicky was thrashing and screaming and crying in pain.

Steve ran in with Wanda and Clint. "Bucky? What's going on?"

"Hydra. Vicky is hurt. Two of them got away, there." He nodded to the window.

"We're on it." Clint nodded, quickly shooting an arrow with a rope attached out the window and swinging out through it.

"Wanda, help Bucky get them back to the compound. Natasha's downstairs." Steve instructed, running back downstairs to help Clint. Wanda came over quickly.

"Contain the bleeding, she's going to bleed out." Bucky ordered her, and Wanda extended her mist to enclose the wound, and Vicky went limp with a flicker of red in her eyes.

"Vicky? Vicky!" Angela started to try and wake her and Bucky held her back.

"Wanda knocked her out, it's okay." He assured her. She let out a sob of relief and collapsed against Bucky.

"Can you carry Vicky?" He asked Wanda as he helped Angela to her feet. Wanda nodded and scooped Vicky up, and they ran down to the car, where Natasha was waiting.

"Get in and drive!" Bucky ordered Natasha, who saw what was going on, nodded, and got in.

Bucky helped Angela into the car and Wanda got in with Vicky, and they sped back to the compound.

Bucky took over carrying her when they arrived and ran her to the medical wing, shouting orders until the doctors got to work. Wanda brought Angela in after him quickly, and she clung to his side again.

He turned to look at her. "Angela are you hurt?"

When she didn't respond, staring worriedly at Vicky with tear tracks down her face, Bucky shook her. "Angela!"

She looked up at him.

"Are you hurt?"

She sniffed and looked to her arms, which were bruising fast.

He brought her over to a chair near some medical supplies and knelt down to tend to the bruises. She followed him slowly, but her eyes never left Vicky.

"This is all my fault Bucky." She whimpered softly.

"How is it your fault?" He asked as he worked, slowly coming back from the soldier now that the immediate threat was gone.

"I was asleep, and- and she- then I heard screaming, and it was too late-" She started having trouble breathing and Bucky took her hands.

"This isn't your fault Angela. Look at me. You couldn't have known Hydra would attack. You worked late last night, you needed sleep, it's still only 6:30 in the morning, and you had no way of knowing you were in danger. Alright?"

She slowly nodded and took a deep breath. "Is Vicky going to be okay?"

"The doctors here have done good work before. They will do everything they can." He promised.

He finished tending to her arms fairly quickly and she dried her eyes.

"God, I have to work tonight, and I have to get groceries, and-"

"Don't worry about that. You're staying here where we can protect you until I say otherwise." Bucky insisted.

"I could get fired if I don't show up at work, and how do I explain this?"

"If Steve finds the soldiers who escaped and gets back in time, I'll send him to talk to your boss, alright? He's good with people. If not I'll send Natasha, she's good with weapons." He promised.

He guessed Angela thought he was joking because she let a flicker of a smile light her otherwise very worried face for a moment. "Thank you uncle Buck."

He got up and sat next to her and hugged her close, tucking her hair back away from her face as he watched Wanda help the doctors take care of Vicky.

She started silently crying into his shirt from the stress and held her closer, rubbing her back gently.

Steve and Clint returned, and Clint went to Wanda and Vicky while Steve came to him.

"How are they?"

"Vicky is still a work in progress, but she should be okay. Angela is stressed." He rubbed her back a little.

Steve knelt so he was a little closer to their height. "Ma'am, if there's anything we can do, you say the word and we're there."

Angela was still crying, and so didn't turn to look at Steve, just nodded a little in thanks.

"She has work tonight, but-" he gestured to the chaos of the medical wing. "I said I would ask you about talking to her boss, you know where she works."

"Yeah, of course. Not a problem Angela, I'll make sure you get the time off you need." Steve rubbed her knee comfortingly and stood.

"Hey Steve?" He looked up at him.

"Yeah Buck?"

"Did you get them?"

Steve slowly nodded. "We cornered them, Clint took them out."

He looked over at Clint, who was hugging Wanda a little to support her as she helped contain Vicky's bleeding and keep her unconscious, and Clint looked up at him for a moment.

He nodded a silent thanks, and Clint nodded back once before they both looked away, Clint to Wanda and Vicky and Bucky to Angela.

"You're safe now. They're all dead, and Hydra can't get to you here." He reassured her gently.

Steve left, and she slowly calmed down in his arms.

The lead doctor came over once they had finished surgery.

"Ma'am?" He asked.

Angela sat up a little, with Bucky's arm still around her shoulders. "How is she?"

"She should have a full recovery, there was no brain damage or anything like that-"

Angela sighed in relief and ran her hand through her hair. "Thank god."

Bucky's eyes narrowed at the doctor. "That's not all."

The doctor looked more nervous now. "N-no. I'm sorry."

"What's wrong? What is it?" Angela was immediately stressed again.

"I'm sorry ma'am. I assure you we did everything we could, there was just too much damage, and she'll still be fully functioning with therapy and-"

"What did you do?" Bucky's voice was stone cold.

"We had to amputate her leg. From just above the knee, down."


	37. Chapter 37

Hey all! Isn't it just a lovely day?

Well no actually, it's raining, at least where I am it is, but hey, here's something to relieve that grey-sky gloom and replace it with amputation and tears

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter, I got a lot of really positive feedback, and to guest reviewer Jenny, hi

This chapter should be less abject sadness and a little more light, but we're still dealing with everything that happened so, you know, not too light

Finally, I haven't done this in a long time, but to reassure you nothing has somehow miraculously changed: I own none of the copyrighted characters

* * *

Angela buried her face in her hands and took a shaky breath. "It was that bad?"

The doctor nodded. "The bone was shattered, there was severe muscle and nerve damage. If left on, it would never have healed properly, and it's highly doubtful she would ever have been able to use it again."

Bucky rubbed Angela's back, which seemed to keep her as calm as could be managed for now.

The doctor began discussing options for prosthetic limbs and Bucky silenced him with a glare, making him scurry off to some corner of the medical wing.

Angela was crying again, although not shaking as much as she had been, and Bucky hugged her close.

Wanda was leaning on Clint, and she looked exhausted.

"Wanda, go rest. You're going to pass out." He ordered her.

"No, I can stay." She protested tiredly.

"Bucky's right, come on. To bed with you." Clint led her out, and she gave in and hugged Bucky and Vicky before leaving.

Angela was apparently exhausted as well, and when he looked down at her a while later he realized she was asleep.

Natasha walked in and tossed Bucky something, and Bucky caught it quickly.

He looked to see the keys to his motorbike.

"Thought you might want those back. I parked it for you."

He nodded thanks, and Natasha went over to Vicky.

"That doesn't look good."

"Amputation." Bucky explained.

"What's that bringing back for you?" Natasha looked to him, very evidently performing a threat analysis.

"Nothing, yet. The pit is there, but I'm not looking. I killed most of the soldiers, all of them are dead. That's enough for me." He said as well as he could manage.

She nodded. "Tell someone when you get there. We haven't had a rampaging Barnes for a while. I want to keep the streak going."

He nodded once.

Natasha looked to Angela. "How's she coping?"

"Not well. She wasn't prepared for this."

"She's pretty strong. She'll be okay." Natasha assured him. "Let us all know if the three of you need anything. Steve suspended missions for a while, unless an emergency comes up we'll be here."

"Thank you Natasha."

She nodded and left him alone with his nieces, who were both sleeping peacefully, a situation he was sure would change soon.

He heard a bark at the door and the small animal came in, and he left Angela delicately to pick it up.

"Hey. I'm sorry I left you." He pushed his face into its fur, and it licked his ear contentedly in reply. "Angela and Vicky were under attack, Stark intercepted a Hydra transmission with their apartment number. I had to go. You understand, don't you small dog?"

It barked in reply.

He smiled a little and rubbed its head. "Thank you. We're all going to need you right now."

He heard a whimper that didn't originate from the small animal and looked over at Vicky.

She was stirring, and from her face it looked like it wasn't going to be happy.

He set the small animal at her side and took her hand. "Vicky?"

She cried out a little as she opened her eyes, and looked around frantically until she spotted Bucky. Once she saw him she launched herself at him, and Bucky cradled her against his chest, keenly aware of the absence of her leg.

He saw the tubes coming out of her and remembered a nurse saying she needed to lay flat and laid her back down. "You need to lay flat Vicky. The doctors said so. It's because of all the tubes, they need to stay inside you to make you better and they'll come out if you don't lay flat."

"What happened uncle Bucky?" She was not laying still.

"Lay still and I'll tell you." He held her down until she stopped moving.

"It was so scary." She whimpered.

"It was Hydra. They sent soldiers to get you and your mom. I came and killed them. You're at the compound now." He summed up for her.

"Hydra? But I thought they were all gone. Mommy said you beat them."

"They came back. I told you, remember?"

She thought and slowly nodded. "Does that mean mommy and I are heroes now? Cause Hydra always looks for big heroes like you to fight?"

He smoothed her hair back gently. "You're too little to be a hero right now. You're just in training."

"Oh. Okay." She looked down, and where she'd jumped at him she'd pushed her blanket off so she could now see her leg was missing, and cried out a little in fear. "Bucky, Bucky, Bucky, Bucky!"

"Vicky, calm down." He tried to calm her, as did the small animal, pushing its nose into her side.

"Bucky my leg is missing!" She started crying.

He really didn't know what to do.

The small animal did though, and got on top of her and laid down, licking her face gently. She hugged it tightly and cried into its fur.

He rubbed her shoulder a little, as that usually seemed to calm Wanda and Angela down, and after a half hour she stopped crying, though he guessed this was due to a lack of water since she still kept a tight grip on the small animal, who by now had surprisingly grown to the same size as Vicky now that he saw it laid down on top of her.

"Vicky?" He asked softly, scared of triggering another bout of tears.

She looked up at him, and he could see the fear in her eyes. "Uncle Bucky where'd my leg go?"

"The doctor had to take it off." He explained in the softest tone he could manage.

"But- but it's my leg."

"It was hurt, badly. You wouldn't have been able to use it."

She sniffed a little and rubbed at her eyes. "Am I gonna get it back?"

He really didn't think it worked like that. "No. You'll get a new one, just like I did when my arm came off."

She reached out to his metal hand, and he cautiously let her take it. "You got your arm took off too."

He nodded. "And I'm okay now. You will be soon."

"Uncle Bucky?" She looked up at his face.

"Yes Vicky?"

"Will you tell me and puppy a story?"

The small animal didn't look like it was going to be moving any time soon, so he sat back and nodded. "Alright."

He started telling a story about knights in shining armor and dragons, since that was what she had asked for, and she started falling asleep.

He heard Angela stir and get up, but didn't stop telling his story until Vicky closed her eyes. Angela stood behind him, watching Vicky with her hand on Bucky's shoulder.

"She woke up?" Bucky nodded. "Does she know what happened, did you tell her?"

"I told her the basics. Hydra came, she's safe now. She knows what happened to her leg." He summed up.

"How much did you tell her? Was it graphic?" Angela was worried.

He shook his head. "Just that the doctor took it off because it was hurt."

She sighed in slight relief. "How'd she take it?"

"She started screaming and crying."

"What?!" Angela kept her exclamation quiet so as not to wake Vicky.

"The small dog calmed her down." He tried assuring her.

"Bucky, you should've woken me."

In retrospect he agreed he really should have.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think of it, I just wanted to get her to stop crying."

"No, it's fine, just…" Angela sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "Just if she starts crying again, come get me. Wake me up, tear me away from whatever I'm doing."

"I will Angela." He promised.

They both watched Vicky and the small animal, one of whom was fast asleep and the other of whom was resting contentedly and watching Bucky.

"I think I'm going to need to find a better name for you." He noted, rubbing the small animal's head. "You aren't all that small anymore."

"I thought his name was Steve? You could call him that." Angela asked, sitting on the bed next to Vicky.

"It is, but it isn't. It doesn't feel like what I call it. It just feels like a name. Like James."

Angela nodded a little. "What about something in Russian? You could still call it dog or something, just in Russian, people do that with names all the time, just pick a word from another language."

"Собака is dog. How does that sound?" He asked the small animal.

"Sobaka?" Angela tried, and he nodded. "That doesn't sound too bad. Maybe ask Vicky when she wakes up. She'd like to be a part of this I think."

He nodded a little.

"How are you so calm uncle Buck? How do you do it?" She asked his advice.

He thought for a moment before replying. "I take comfort in what I know. The soldiers that attacked you are dead. All of them. The compound has never been attacked as long as I've been here. Vicky is resting peacefully, and your injuries have been taken care of. Steve is making sure you get the time you need to rest. I have two knives and a half-empty gun to protect you with." That made Angela smile a little for some reason. "Focus on what you know Angela. You'll calm down soon enough."

She took a slow breath and nodded, and hugged him.

He hugged her back.

"Thank you." She whispered softly.

"You're very welcome." He replied equally softly.

* * *

And that's a wrap. Feel free to leave me praise, criticism, or questions about the story

I have nice plans for something to do next chapter, it should be kind of fun, so look forward to that

Bye!


	38. Chapter 38

Hi everyone, how are things? I don't know why I keep asking, I never get an answer, it just feels weird not to I guess

At any rate

Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing, and particularly those of you (you know who you are) who have been leaving me thoughtful critiques of my work to help me improve

I wanted to get away from the sadness and despair this chapter, so I replaced it with Star Wars and alcohol, as many responsible adults probably shouldn't do but do anyway

Enjoy folks

* * *

They had been at the compound now for three weeks. Clint had offered to pick up some things from Angela and Vicky's apartment, to help make them more comfortable, and Bucky convinced Angela that she needed a proper sleep and set her up in an empty room close to the medical wing.

He stayed there a lot too, to keep an eye on her and Vicky, and Wanda and Steve would fluctuate in and out to keep an eye on him.

The small animal, which Vicky wasn't sure should be called Sobaka, mostly stayed with her in the medical wing, coming with Bucky for training in the mornings and if it was hungry.

The doctors insisted it had to be removed the first day, while Bucky was off talking to Steve, and the next day he brought it back and sat down with Vicky to teach her the first lesson of getting what you wanted: lying.

"You tell the doctor it's your therapy dog. Then he can't make you give it up." He explained.

The doctor came back and started to protest at the small animal's presence again, and Vicky spoke up. "He's my theppy dog."

Bucky rested his head in one hand.

"Your what?" The doctor asked.

"My thirpy dog." She tried again.

"Therapy, her therapy dog. Just let it stay or I'll retaliate." Bucky sighed.

The doctor knew better than to argue with Bucky, and didn't argue any further about its remaining by her side.

Angela was starting to calm down, and had gone back to work a week ago to check in and explain things to her bosses, supervised by Bucky, while Steve and Wanda babysat Vicky. The small animal came with him and Angela, and he rolled a ball to it while he waited.

Stark had been mysteriously absent most of this time, only seen by Bucky once and Angela twice, when he'd checked in with them to see how things were going. Steve found it suspicious, but Bucky was content that Stark wasn't flirting with his niece.

At last, Vicky was allowed out of the medical wing, and the doctor fitted her with a temporary prosthetic leg, which he said was temporary until she grew out of it, but Stark was there that day and assured them he had other plans. Plans that didn't involve his invitation for Angela and Bucky to join the team in a small get-together that night to let off some steam.

Angela was worried about Vicky, but the doctor assured her Vicky would still be quite tired and likely sleep through the night, and Wanda assured her that she and the Vision would likely not stay long and could watch Vicky for her. Bucky agreed to stay by her side with the small animal, and she agreed to go.

The room had been set up with couches and blankets and a table in front of two television screens. The rest of the team was already there, and it appeared Steve had saved them space on the left couch. Wanda and the Vision were sitting on the floor, Natasha and Clint were sprawled out over the right couch, and Stark and Banner were in the center, and Stark was pouring tiny drinks.

"Hey! Welcome to the party!" Stark held up a glass to them.

"Shots? Really?" Angela asked as she sat down, with Bucky between her and Steve and the small animal at their feet.

"His idea." Banner nodded to Stark.

"Hey, it'll calm everyone down." Clint shrugged.

"It's only half shots, we made him water it down a bit." Natasha added.

"Okay… What are we doing shots for?" Angela seemed cautiously into it.

"Steve here hasn't seen the "first" three Star Wars movies." Stark pointed to him.

"Neither have we." Wanda added, nodding to herself and the Vision.

"So we're gonna try a prequel drinking game. Someone flash up the rules." Stark waved, and one of the screens displayed rules for when you had to take a shot or drink, with one set of rules per movie.

"Participation optional." Banner added. "I'm just drinking water."

This seemed like either a very good or very bad idea.

"Do you want to try it?" Bucky nudged Angela.

"I can't drink too much, I still have to take care of Vicky."

"We can take care of her for a little while. You need to relax." The Vision advised.

"See? Vision agrees with me. Relax." Bucky smiled a little.

Angela smiled back a little. "Okay, why not?"

"You joining in Killer Uncle?" Stark asked him as he slid a shot over the table to Angela.

"I'll give it a try." Bucky held out his hand to catch a glass, and Stark slid him one.

"Lights, camera!" Clint called, and the movie title screen came up as the lights in the room dimmed.

"Action!" Stark called as he hit play.

Bucky had already seen these movies, having watched them early on during the time he spent researching what he had missed, so he sat back and watched Steve and Angela.

There were a fair number of shots to be taken just in the first movie, and already Angela, Clint, and Stark were beginning to show signs, as the commentary everyone kept up during the movie started to get a little slower on their ends.

Wanda and the Vision left after the first movie, and Angela gave them the speech he realized she gave everyone when they had to watch Vicky. They promised to take care of her, and Clint warned them not to make out and to behave themselves.

By the end of the second movie, Natasha was starting to show signs that the alcohol was getting to her as well, though only marginally, but he and Steve were still fine.

Angela was also doing fairly well, and he was more than a little proud of her, seeing as Stark was the resident alcoholic and she appeared to be drinking him under the table.

As the third movie started Clint wisely decided to stop drinking and said good night, and Stark promptly challenged Angela to a full out duel for who could last the longest.

Bucky encouraged her to go for it, since so far she seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Stark was unconscious before the halfway point.

He and Natasha congratulated Angela on her victory, and she leaned on Bucky.

"Buck?"

"Yeah Angela?" He rubbed her shoulder a little.

"I'm stopping now. I won, but I'm gonna be soooooo hungover as it is." She closed her eyes.

"Go to sleep. You took it like a champ."

She smiled a little and curled up, and the small animal jumped up in his lap as well.

"They fell asleep fast." Steve noted, and indeed both of them were asleep before he had time to blink.

"They need their rest." Bucky shrugged.

"Speaking of people who need rest." Natasha stood up and came over to high five Steve. "Night Captain."

"Good night Natasha." He nodded to her.

"Night Barnes." She nodded to him.

He took her hand and kissed it, remembering he'd done this before to great effect. "Sleep well Natasha."

She kissed him on his lips and walked out, and Steve looked between them.

"Buck, you've got to tell me." He started.

"I'd love to, but I don't know either." Bucky could tell where he was going. He and Natasha were acting cool, but Bucky had absolutely no comprehension of what was going on between them.

"Let me know when you do." Steve stretched a little. "I'm gonna turn in. You staying here with the family?"

"I think so. Moving Angela might wake her."

Steve nodded and patted his shoulder. "Sleep well."

"You too." Bucky nodded to him.

He slept there, with Angela and the small animal, until the sun started glaring through the window and woke him up.

He stretched and rubbed the small animal's head until it woke and licked his hand tiredly.

Angela let out a soft groan and he looked down at her. "Angela?"

"Little letters uncle Buck. Talk in little letters." She rubbed her head.

"You're hungover?" He guessed.

"You think? God, this feels worse than college." She groaned.

"Do you want anything for it?" He offered.

She sat up. "Coffee. I need coffee. And I need to check on Vicky."

"You get coffee, we'll get Vicky." Bucky helped her up and they parted ways, with the small animal padding along by his side.

Vicky was asleep in bed, and Wanda and the Vision were curled up together nearby.

He picked up Vicky gently and she mumbled something in her sleep.

"It's alright Vicky. It's just me." He assured her softly, and she woke up.

"It's morning time?"

"Mhmm." He nodded. "Your mom wants to see you. But you need to be quiet, she's hungover."

"What's that?" She asked as he carried her to the cafeteria. "Is it like a headache?"

"I think so." He nodded.

"Okay. I'll be real quiet. Puppy has to be quiet too. Puppy, be quiet, mommy has a headache." She instructed the small animal from his arms, and he smiled a little. She had the makings of a good soldier, she took and gave orders well.

They reunited with Angela and sat down to eat, and Stark came in.

"Good morning champ." He nodded to Angela.

"It's not good yet. You gonna make it better?" She asked as she drank her coffee.

"Actually, I am. My hangover is already gone since I woke up at 2 in the morning in the bed in the lab. Bruce dragged me out I'm guessing?" He checked.

Bucky nodded.

"Well, I had a breakthrough." He sat next to Angela.

"Yeah? What on?" She was too tired to really sound curious.

Stark held his hand out to Bucky, and Bucky watched it in confusion.

After a minute Stark sighed. "You're ruining my dramatic moment, give me your hand."

He slowly put his hand in Stark's.

"No, no, the cool one." He protested, and Bucky switched hands. "There we go. This. This is what I had a breakthrough on."

"Bucky's shiny arm?" Vicky asked.

"Bucky's shiny arm." Stark nodded. "More specifically, everything inside it that makes it work. Kid, how would you like to volunteer for an experiment?"

* * *

PSA: I do not condone this level of drinking, don't drink, alcohol is bad, don't touch it

Seriously though, you do you as long as it's legal and safe, just please don't get alcohol poisoning or commit any crimes

Here's a specific question you guys could maybe answer in the reviews, how do you feel about Bucky and Natasha? I've had a lot of requests for it, but give me some specifics, where do you think it should go? Are they getting married, are they just screwing around and separately trusting each other, what's going on with those two? Let me know what you think, and if any of you have any good ideas maybe I'll cite you in an upcoming chapter

DFTBA guys


	39. Chapter 39

I promised myself I was going to start regularly posting on Fridays. Then I realized I had two eight-ten page essays due in a week. Suffice to say, it's now Tuesday. I'm trying guys I swear.

I sent this story to my creative writing prof since it's probably some of my best work, so if you're reading this hi, I hope you like it

Apparently a lot of you guys like Bucktasha. I mean, a lot of you. So I'm gonna do what I can to work that in. Maybe a nice little ship moment five chapters or so from now, I have plans, but they require Vicky's new leg to be pretty well established, and Bucky to be able to take Vicky to a park alone...

Anyways, hope you all enjoy

* * *

Bucky was immediately suspicious, and he gripped Stark's hand just painfully enough to threaten him. "What sort of an experiment?"

Stark got the message quickly. "Whoa, easy there, I want to give her a new leg." He explained.

"The doctor just gave her a prosthetic. She's supposed to start therapy this afternoon." Angela was starting to wake up from her hangover.

"Which is why I'm talking to you now. This arm is state of the art, better than anything I've seen or made. If this works, little Vicky should be up and running around like a normal kid in a month or two."

"No." Bucky put his foot down.

Angela watched him for a minute before looking to Stark. "Can you take Vicky to our room, keep her occupied?"

"All depends on whether or not the tin man stops crushing the bones in my hand." Stark was joking, but only just. Bucky was very close to crushing the bones in his hand.

He let go reluctantly.

"Why do I have to go momma?" Vicky took her mother's arm, and Angela kissed her head.

"Momma has to talk to your uncle Bucky about not killing Tony Stark. Can you guard him for me?"

Vicky was excited by the task, and nodded quickly, and Stark picked her up and left.

The small animal hopped up on the table, near Bucky's hands, and he rubbed its back to stay calm.

Angela leaned forwards. "Isn't this good Bucky? Normal prosthetics, they don't work like your arm, she'd have a harder time at everything. Even if she could regain some sense of normalcy, overcome it, it's still going to hold her back. Wouldn't this be better for her?"

Angela didn't understand. "The arm hurts. Hydra didn't design it for comfort, they designed it for power. It took me years to get used to it." He explained. "I'm stronger now, it doesn't affect me anymore, but it will affect Vicky."

Angela took his free hand. "Maybe he can find a way for it not to hurt her. Please Bucky. She looks up to you, she'll love this, and if it works… if it works then she won't have to worry any more."

Bucky could see the need on her. She needed Vicky to be okay, she needed things to be as normal as possible.

He sighed. "Steve still can't look at my arm without flinching. When he sees the seam of it on my shoulder, he looks away or he freezes. He's had over a year now to adapt to it. This won't make Vicky normal Angela. You'll always see where she was hurt."

Angela looked down for a moment. "You think so?"

She wore her emotions on her face, and he could see the stress and fear returning.

He relented, and squeezed her hand a little. "We can talk to Stark. Maybe you're right, maybe he found a way to make it not hurt. Maybe this will be better for her. We can talk to him and make sure he does nothing we don't like."

She nodded. "Yeah, okay. Okay."

They both took a deep breath.

"Don't get me wrong uncle Buck, I'm glad I have you, but god my life is so much more complicated now." She smiled tiredly to reassure him that she was indeed glad to have him, and he nodded a little back to assure her he understood. Angela changed the subject. "How are you and Natasha? Still figuring things out?"

He nodded again. "She kissed me last night, once the movies were over. We were saying good night, her and Steve and I. I kissed her hand first, so maybe I had it coming."

"Sounds pretty serious. Do you feel anything for her?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't when whatever this is started. It was just because she was there, she was a woman and she wasn't Wanda. Steve trusted her. It still just feels like that. We work together, and kiss sometimes. She still sees me as a threat, just like I see her. We're just better at putting it aside to work together now."

"That sounds pretty good." She shrugged. "You've both got trust issues, maybe that's as good as it gets."

"What about you and Stark?" He didn't feel like talking about his trust issues.

She smiled a little. "We're not anything Buck. It's just nice having someone to make me feel a bit younger sometimes. Less like an old maid."

"You're already fairly young. Younger than me at least." He reasoned.

"Everyone's younger than you, you're 90." Angela smiled a little more, and he smiled back, happy he could help her relax.

They settled back in comfortable silence for a moment before Bucky spoke again.

"Vicky didn't like Sobaka for small dog."

"No?" Angela asked, and Bucky shook his head. "Any other ideas for a name? He's getting pretty big now." Angela rubbed the small animal's back as well.

"He is." Bucky nodded. "I can't just call him big dog can I?"

Angela laughed a little. "No, I don't think so. I mean you could, you can call him whatever you want, but if you're looking for a name then maybe that's not it."

Bucky nodded and scratched behind its ears, and its tail smacked against the table a few times.

Wanda came over and sat down next to Bucky. "Hey."

"Hey Wanda." Angela nodded to her.

"How are you?"

"Recovering from a hangover. Just had a proposal from Stark- wrong wording, not that kind of proposal. He wants to give Vicky a leg like Bucky's arm." Angela stumbled a little over her words.

"Is that why Bucky was so worried earlier?" Wanda looked to him.

"How did you know that?" Angela looked up at Wanda.

"She keeps an eye on me. I told her to get out of my head, she refuses to do so, so we compromised." Bucky explained.

"I keep an eye on the surface level, just what he's feeling, sometimes a thought or memory will come through, but not that often. And I don't meddle, he won't let me." She added.

"Why?" Angela asked curiously.

"The first time she tried it, my brain nearly killed her. I had just arrived here, and I put her in the hospital for two days." He explained.

"Oh." Angela said simply.

"You don't think Vicky should get a leg like your arm?" Wanda looked to Bucky. "Or you don't trust Stark to give it to her?"

He sighed. "Stark is the best, if anyone can do it it's probably him. I just… Don't want her to hurt."

"She's already hurt. It would be hard to hurt her any more." Wanda reasoned.

He nodded a little. "Maybe. We're going to talk to him."

"Is this going to be more of a Steve sort of talk or a Natasha sort of talk?"

"What do you mean?" Angela asked.

"Steve is very good at staying calm when he talks to people. Natasha is…" Wanda looked for the right word.

"Natasha is better at torture and intimidation than Steve is." Bucky summed up.

"Bucky." Angela sighed.

"What?" He didn't understand what she had to complain about.

"Don't torture Stark, he's trying to help."

"If we intimidate him, we can make sure he does help."

"No. Bad. No torturing Tony Stark." She scolded him.

* * *

How'd you find that one? Good? Bad? I'm never sure if I'm better at writing montages and action or dialogue and small specific moments.

Let me know what you thought, any ideas, prompts, or just overall comments or questions

Peace out guys


	40. Chapter 40

Hey… so… sorry about the wait. I know it's been a very long time, but I wrote myself into a corner so I kept putting off trying to sort it out, then exam season came around, and then a social life sprung up all of a sudden, and long story short it's been a while since I got to writing this. I am so sorry. As an apology, I'm going to try to get a couple chapters up all in a few days, to make up for lost time, including a fun chapter that was requested of me back when I introduced Spider-Man, that should come soon, and a special request I got that will be going up today. Now that summer is here I should be writing more often, so I should get back into the swing of things soon. Sorry again.

Without further ado, here's Bucky and gang, back again from their hiatus.

* * *

Angela took Bucky with her to go talk to Stark, who had by now had the opportunity to convince Vicky that a leg to match Bucky's arm was an excellent idea, making their job negotiating with him much harder, since she threatened to start crying whenever Bucky attempted to put his foot down on Stark giving her the leg.

By the end of their talk Bucky was not convinced this was a good idea, but Angela was sold on it, and Bucky reluctantly agreed.

Stark outlined the procedure fairly simply. Since Vicky was still growing, he would attach a disk to the remainder of her leg that would grow with it, and serve as a link between her real leg and the prosthetic leg Stark would give her. As she grew, he would replace the leg with larger versions, and perform maintenance to ensure that everything still worked properly. The disk would be surgically attached, then when she woke her leg would be constructed and implanted, to ensure it worked properly.

And Bucky would be there to watch, something Stark actually stipulated before he did. Stark needed his arm there for reference, to ensure the internal wiring and mechanisms were properly constructed and functioning well. While it didn't inspire much confidence in Stark's ability to make the leg, he was at least pleased that he would be there to make sure he didn't hurt Vicky.

Clint and Natasha came by while Bucky was watching her, a day before Vicky was due to go in for her surgery, and handed her a box wrapped in red paper that was nearly the size she was.

"What is this?" Bucky asked them as she tore off the paper.

"Figured she'd need something to keep her occupied while she's getting used to the leg." Clint explained.

Vicky revealed a plain black box, and when she couldn't figure out how to get it open Clint sat down next to her and opened it. Inside was a red plastic gun, with a barrel too wide for any normal bullets. There was also a package inside the box, which Vicky eagerly opened to reveal bright yellow foam projectiles.

"It's a gun!" Vicky exclaimed happily. "Now can I be just like uncle Bucky? And shoot all the bad guys until they go to jail?"

Clint smiled. "You sure can kid."

"Why don't you try it out?" Natasha suggested.

Vicky quickly tried loading the gun, and Bucky came over to show her how to load it. It was remarkably like a real gun, it even had a scope for sniping and a safety, which he turned off for her.

"I didn't know they made guns like this for children." He remarked as she looked through the scope of the gun.

"They don't. Clint's got a hobby. I just bought the ammo." Natasha nodded to Clint, who shrugged.

"I just took a normal kid's gun and… added some things. It should fire faster, and a bit harder. Added the scope for her too, I thought you'd like that. Steve said you were the best sniper in the regiment back in your day."

Bucky smiled a little. "I was. Lay on your belly Vicky, I'll teach you how to line up a good shot."

Vicky laid down, and Bucky walked her through how and where to aim her gun, and she promptly shot Natasha in the head.

Natasha rolled her eyes and fell to the ground, and Vicky squealed in delight and crawled off the bed to go hug her.

Vicky kept practicing, tackling everyone she shot, including Steve, who wound up taking a bullet for Bucky when he walked into the room, and the small animal, who woke up at all the noise from Vicky's delighted squeals and proceeded to fetch her bullets for her and bring them back to her.

Angela also received a bullet to the head when she walked in, which led to her promptly setting some clear ground rules for use of the gun. She wanted to take it away entirely, but Vicky began to get upset, and Bucky, Clint, and Natasha convinced her not to. Vicky wasn't allowed to use it inside, unless somewhere that Angela deemed it safe to be used, and she wasn't allowed to shoot her mother. This led to Vicky turning and shooting Bucky repeatedly, and he fell back on the bed, only to have both Vicky and the small animal jump on him.

She had her surgery the next day, and it took most of the day. Steve and Wanda took it in turns bringing Bucky and Angela food, and Bucky only left briefly around noon to train with the small animal, upon Angela's insistence.

Nevertheless, the surgery went well, with no complications.

Vicky woke up the next day feeling quite tired, but she was delighted with the shining silver disk at the end of what was left of her leg. They gave her two days to recover, letting her stay with Angela all day to keep her from getting too excited.

Bucky kept himself busy with training, which he had been neglecting of late, and he discovered that Steve had grown better than him at fighting. This had to be fixed, and he spent those two days getting back into peak fighting condition, until he could reliably take down Steve again.

On the third day Wanda joined them, and they tag-teamed on each other. Angela brought Vicky by late in the morning to watch, and he was pleased to see that they were both struck with awe at the end of the fight, though it was one that Wanda narrowly won due to a sly use of her powers.

Bucky proceeded to bring Angela into training, slowing himself down so that she had time to follow his movements. Vicky was delighted, and when Steve offered to give Angela a taste of a fight Vicky cheered when Angela landed a blow on him.

She apologized immediately, but Bucky assured her that no, she did it exactly right, and he was very proud of her.

Stark wasn't going to attach the leg until the end of the week, so Bucky's plan was just to keep training, and maybe watch some television or movies with his family.

* * *

It's been a while, so as a reminder (because I'm sure you totally need one):

Review, review, review, please, I need all the criticism I can get in the next few days, it's been so long since I wrote this, I want to make sure I'm doing it right

Thank you so much for sticking with this so far

DFTBA


	41. Chapter 41

Happy birthday to Beuniquebeyou

Thank you so much for caring enough about this story to get in touch, it means a lot to me

I wish you all the best, and I hope you enjoy this chapter

* * *

Angela proceeded to get a number of phone calls throughout the next day, which kept her both stressed and busy. She insisted that Bucky leave her alone for now to deal with them, and he very reluctantly agreed. She also kept Vicky close, staying outside so Vicky could use her gun from the comfort of a wheelchair that was really too big for her.

The Vision was also occupied, with Steve and Banner on some sort of mission that he didn't entirely understand, so that meant he, the small animal, and Wanda were spending the day together.

He and the small animal trained early in the morning, leaving the gym when the sun rose to go get some breakfast to bring back to his room, and the small animal ran for Wanda's room the moment they entered that hallway, jumping at the door until he opened it so it could jump up on her bed and bark in her face until she rolled over.

"What? What's going on?" She groaned softly.

"He missed you. It's been a while since we spent much time together." Bucky sat on the edge of her bed, and she sat up.

"Mm. It has. We've been busy. You have your nieces, I have Vision, we both have missions." Wanda ran her hand through her hair.

"Not today. We have none of that today. Just like old times?" He offered her a roll from his plate of breakfast, and she summoned it to her hand with her powers.

"Sounds good." She smiled.

They sat back and ate breakfast contentedly, with Wanda falling back into his arms like they hadn't stopped spending time together since those days when they were both worse for wear and often couldn't bear leaving their safe spaces to explore.

She turned on the television and they watched something that he guessed was a comedy, though neither of them found it much more than confusing. Knowing who the people were probably would've helped, or any of their stories.

He felt Wanda starting to sink into his mind and he straightened.

"Wanda."

She sighed. "It's been so long. You probably wouldn't even hurt me now."

"I'm not risking it Wanda." He insisted.

She sighed and pulled away from his mind. "Fine. Can I look at Natasha's?"

He didn't know why she was asking him permission. "Sure, I guess. Why are you asking me?"

"Well she's your girlfriend." Wanda shrugged.

That was news to him. "She is?"

Wanda looked up at him. "Really? After all this, you still don't know what's going on with you two?"

"I have no idea. We're… kissing. A lot. I think. But there's no emotion there, we're still just coworkers. When Vicky was hurt her first question was whether or not I was going to turn into a threat, which is fair."

"Okay, we're sorting this out. Bucky, go find Natasha, I'll be right there." She got up. Bucky confusedly picked up the small animal and left.

Natasha was sitting with Clint in the balcony of the gym, shooting targets with him, upside down, from the comfort of a portable couch which they had their legs propped up over the back of.

"Natasha!" He called up, earning him an arrow to the head from Clint that he caught before it could impact.

"What?" She called back, sitting up properly.

"Wanda told me to find you." He set the small animal down, and it ran up the stairs to go jump on Clint.

"Why?" Natasha got up and leaned on the railing of the balcony.

"I'm not really sure." He shrugged. "She said she'd be here soon."

"Well, come on up, make yourself comfortable." She shrugged, sitting back down, and he joined her and Clint on the couch.

"Here." He beckoned the small animal over, and it jumped over Natasha to get to his lap.

Wanda walked into the gym wearing a suit and high heels, with her hair in a ponytail, and came up the stairs, only tripping once and catching herself fairly quickly.

"Wanda what are you doing?" Clint laughed.

"I need to talk to Bucky and Natasha." She tried using her powers to persuade him to leave, but he could tell she'd left him too early and he reclined back.

"Well just for that I'm sticking around." He shrugged.

"What's going on?" Natasha shot a target over Wanda's shoulder.

"And what's with the suit?" Bucky added.

"This is how it goes in all the movies, just shush." Wanda was trying not to crack a smile.

They let her maintain her façade.

"Natasha." She cleared her throat.

"Wanda." Natasha replied.

"What are your intentions for my… friend… brother… guardian… person… Bucky, what are your intentions for Bucky?"

Clint promptly burst out laughing in the background, and he was tempted to join him. Wanda was trying so hard to be intimidating it was endearing.

"You're giving me the "what are your intentions towards my daughter" speech?" Natasha sounded equally amused.

"Yes?" Wanda guessed.

"I hope you're recording." Clint said to a nearby security camera.

"Wanda, there's no need. We aren't a couple. I don't know what the fake Russian has been telling you, but we aren't anything. We're just colleagues."

He looked over at Natasha. "Поддельный русский?" (Fake Russian?)

"Не обижайтесь, вы симпатичный поддельный русский." (Don't be offended, you're a pretty fake Russian.) She assured him.

"Я красивая? Кто из нас - Черная Вдова?" (I'm the pretty one? Which of us is the Black Widow?) He nudged her.

"Поверь мне, ты красивая. Посмотрите на длинные волосы." (Trust me, you're the pretty one. Look at that long hair.) She flicked a long strand of hair away from his face.

"Ух ты, кто знал, что я тоже выгляжу? Я думал, что я просто мозг и мышцы." (Wow, who knew I was the looks of the operation too? I thought I was just the brains and muscle.) He smirked a bit.

She rolled her eyes. "Независимо от того, что помогает тебе спать по ночам Баки." (Whatever helps you sleep at night Bucky.)

"Oh you two are on first name terms finally? Only took you sticking each other's tongues down each other's throats to get there." Clint remarked.

"Заткнись, Бартон." (Shut up Barton.) Both he and Natasha said simultaneously, prompting him to start laughing again.

The small animal barked at him and pawed at his chest, and he rubbed its head a little. "What is it?"

"I think he's confused, and so am I." Wanda informed him.

"Just some banter Wanda, that's all." Natasha assured her.

"You really don't need to give her this talk." Bucky added.

"So I dressed like this for nothing?"

"Hey, don't worry kid, I'll take you into town for some Chinese food or something." Clint got up. "We'll leave mom and dad to have a little chat."

Natasha hit Clint good-naturedly, and he flipped her off with a smile before going downstairs. Wanda hugged Bucky tightly before following him.

Bucky tossed one of Clint's arrows, and the small animal ran after it quickly.

"What did you tell her?" Natasha asked.

"Nothing. Just that we kiss but we're still colleagues." He shrugged.

"Want to keep it that way?" She checked.

"Why? Are you growing feelings?" He looked over at her.

"Nope. Just want to make sure you aren't." He could tell she wasn't hiding anything, a rare thing from her. She always seemed like she had something to hide.

"I'm not. Don't worry." He kissed her cheek, and she nudged him off with a smile.

The small animal brought the arrow back proudly and he tossed it further, sending it bounding across the balcony again.

Clint and Wanda came back eventually with the Chinese food, and they parted ways to split off into their regular pairs and eat in peace.

Wanda curled up on his bed and he put in the Indiana Jones movies. Stark had put all of them in one file for easy "binge watching", and both he and Wanda enjoyed them, so they sat back and ate their Chinese food and watched until Wanda fell asleep.

The small animal licked her face once to check if she was indeed asleep, and nudged Bucky with its nose.

"Is she out?" He asked, and it barked softly.

He checked her pulse before pulling the blanket over her gently. "Good night Wanda."

She mumbled something under her breath, and he kissed her head before settling back to watch the moon move across the sky out his window.

The small animal curled up next to Wanda's chest, and he rubbed its back until it too fell asleep, leaving him alone in the darkness.

* * *

And there it is!

Happy birthday, again

Next chapter, leg, and after that... well... let's just say, there's a wall coming down (with a number between 1 and 5 on it)


	42. Chapter 42

I am a liar. I keep saying "oh yeah now I'll post regularly", nope. At this point I don't want to promise anymore, cause I feel so bad when I don't post after promising. That being said, my boyfriend is away for basic training for two months and I don't have a job, soooo... I might be more regular now. Then again, I also want to start a brand new multi-chapter fic with Bucky so I might have gone insane. At any rate, once I get through the chapter ideas I've had for this, and any suggestions you guys might have, I think I'm going to wrap it up. I've had the ending planned since the beginning, I just keep putting it off because I have ideas for in-the-middle filler.

But for now, I have this lovely chapter for you all. I present, a leg.

* * *

Stark was ready to attach Vicky's leg to the implanted disc after a week, which thankfully arrived just as Vicky was starting to get impatient.

He and Angela were both surprised when they arrived to the lab and found out that Stark was going to do this alone, since they'd been expecting the normal tidy influence Banner had on Stark to keep him in line.

Nevertheless, Angela was willing to trust him, and Vicky was her daughter, so he let her make the decision to keep going.

She handed Vicky over to Stark, who sat her down on an empty table in the lab.

"You be good, okay?" Angela made her promise.

"You're not staying?" Stark asked her.

She shook her head. "I still have calls, and… I sat through the surgery, and that was stressful. She's got Bucky. I already checked, she was happy just having Bucky."

"I'll keep an eye out." Bucky nodded, and she hugged him gratefully.

"Okay. Well, if you find my dead body in here it's all your fault." Stark joked, and both of his nieces smiled.

"I love you Vicky." Angela kissed Vicky's head.

"Love you too momma!" She beamed, and Angela hugged Bucky once again and left.

She'd warned Bucky that he couldn't threaten Stark directly, but she said nothing about intimidation, and his face was cold when Stark looked to him.

"Alright Megazord, sit down over here and put your arm up." Stark waved him over to a chair near Vicky and patted some empty space on a table, and he slowly complied.

"Am I gonna get my leg now?" Vicky clapped.

"You bet kid! Now here, do me a favor, and kick this. As hard as you can." Stark held up some sort of wired-up board, and she kicked it weakly.

"Like that?" She looked up at Stark.

He checked a computer nearby for a second. "Perfect. Now give it a couple more tries."

She kicked it again once more before Bucky shifted her closer to the edge of the table so she could kick the board harder.

"Perfect! Alright, Summer Civilian, give it your best punch with the real side." He held the board in front of Bucky, and he promptly punched it with all the force he had.

"And again. And again, and again, I'll need like five good punches on this side."

He gave Stark the punches he wanted.

"Great. Now the cool arm." He moved the board over, and Bucky looked up at him.

"I'll break it at full force."

"This thing is designed to have a tank dropped on it, just punch it." Stark assured him.

"Go on uncle Bucky!" Vicky encouraged him.

He sighed and punched the board, and he could feel it start to give out.

Stark checked the data and whistled. "That's beautiful. Once more?"

He punched it again, and he could tell it wouldn't survive another punch.

"Okay, that data is consistent, I won't need to get another hit. Sweet. Vicky, here's what your leg is gonna look like. On the inside anyway." Stark opened a drawer and took out a leg-shaped mess of wires and cables and metal that looked like the insides of his arm.

"That's not what Bucky's arm looks like." Vicky started to pout, and Bucky pulled back a panel to show her the inside, promptly shutting her up on that point. "Wow! That looks so neat! That part looks like it!" She pointed to something on the leg that looked like the wires visible in his arm.

He smiled a little.

"Alright kiddo, scooch back so I can hook this up." Stark moved her back on the table, and started attaching the leg.

Bucky kept an eye on her, but the procedure seemed to go well. Stark didn't falter once, attaching everything with precision that rivaled his marksmanship.

"Voila! One new leg!" He pronounced once he had attached the sleek grey panels. "Ready to turn it on?"

"Yes!" Vicky clapped excitedly, and Stark flipped the switch.

The leg kicked out of control for a moment, and Vicky made a startled noise. Bucky was about to choke out Stark when it rested back down on the table. He did stand, and stare Stark down menacingly.

"Hey, I know that look, no, no killing me, that's normal, it's just reacting to the initial surge or nerve input, it's fine now." Stark raised his hands, and looked to Vicky. "You want to try it out?"

Vicky started slowly moving the leg, wiggling her toes and rolling her ankle. "It works?"

"You tell me."

Vicky reached out to Bucky with a noise of impatience, and he picked her up and set her on the floor, and the small animal jumped down next to her and barked happily, from a few feet away.

She slowly walked over to it, unsure of the leg, before jumping up and down happily and hugging the small animal. "It works it works! I got my leg back!"

"You sure did." Stark smiled, and Bucky relaxed, watching Vicky dance around the small animal.

"Thank you Stark." He said softly.

Stark just shrugged. "She's just a kid. She doesn't deserve any of our drama."

He nodded a little. "You still can't date my niece."

"I totally can, she'll kill you if you kill me." He smiled a bit.

"Fine, but no more kids. I don't want my nieces or nephews to be Starks." Bucky smiled back slightly.

Stark laughed a little. "Starks and Barnes. The world isn't ready."

"Bucky, Bucky, Bucky!" Vicky bounced up to his leg, and he knelt down. "Uncle Bucky, can we go home now?"

"Why do you want to go home?" He asked her gently.

"Cause my leg doesn't have a star like your arm and I want one and all my paint is at home."

He sighed. "Okay. We'll find your mother, and we'll see about taking you home to get your paint."

She clapped delightedly, and ran out into the hall, and he nodded goodbye to Stark before following.

Angela started crying when Vicky ran to her, and hung up her call to hug Vicky tightly. She agreed to go back home, only to get Vicky's paints, as long as Bucky thought it was safe. Bucky asked Clint to keep an eye out from the roof of the building across the street, and got Wanda to keep an eye on Angela and Vicky's minds in case of trouble.

He drove them home and Vicky ran upstairs, then down again, then back up by the time they had reached the apartment.

He ordered Angela to lay down and relax for a moment, since she was so tightly wound, and she laid back on the couch as Vicky hobbled out carrying more paints and brushes than her arms could really bear.

At first she wanted a red star like his, then he told her what it stood for and suggested that she choose a different colour. Vicky agreed, and held out two paints, one bright pink and incredibly sparkly, and one pastel blue.

Before he could choose one she made up her own mind though, talking rapid-fire the entire time, and she tried painting a pink glittery star on her leg. Bucky sat back to watch, and paint quickly got all over the leg and floor. By now Angela had fallen asleep, and Bucky got Vicky to stop for a minute so he could clean up the paint and they could try again.

He painted it on her leg himself once he was done cleaning. Steve was always the artist, not him, so the star was a bit lopsided if you looked closely, but it would probably be fine.

Vicky liked it.

He didn't want to wake Angela, so he carried her out to the car and let Vicky sit in the front on the drive home, which excited her greatly.

Steve gave him a quick word over that when he saw the car pull in, but he informed Bucky that they had a mission, a gang with potential ties to Hydra camping out in a small town in Canada. He offered to let Bucky sit it out, he was already bringing Peter and he could bring Wanda instead, but Bucky decided he might as well go. , it had been a while since he'd been on a mission.

* * *

Hope you guys liked my "dramatic" return to fanfic.

Next chapter(s) will be better I swear.

Please review, follow, et cetera. You know the drill.

Fair warning, next chapter(s) I'm going to be putting up a big bold language warning for - ME Hi guys - oh my god shut up, you're not in it yet - SOON - SHUT UP YOU'LL SPOIL THE SURPRISE.


	43. Chapter 43 - FLOWERS AND RAINBOWS

Hey guys

This is a chapter that was requested of me, back when I introduced Spidey, by Evaline101. I really hope you're still reading this, I've been working on this idea forever. (Sorry it took so long :( )

Classic iterations of this are as R-rated as R-rated can be, but this fanfic tends to lean more K+ or T at most. How to fix this? I'm writing it twice!

This is the clean version of the story, the one where I censor all of the swearing and the violence to make it more appropriate for sensitive eyes.

THIS IS THE CLEAN ONE.

If you're a horrible degenerate (like me), feel free to read Chapter 43 - BLOOD AND GUNS EDITION, where I do what I can to butcher this beloved character - yeah you really did screw me up didn't you? - shut up please? We're not at your part yet, go wait in the wings - but that's boring - go write some Spideypool fanfic, that'll keep you occupied

Anyways...  
Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Angela decided that once Bucky got back she and Vicky were going to go home, and she would get back to work, so they could try to regain some sense of normalcy. He left the small animal to guard them while he was gone, and he asked everyone he saw to keep an eye on things, including a random SHIELD agent he'd found Vicky clinging to the legs of while he walked through the hall.

They went up to the roof at 6 in the morning to fly out, and landed in a small airfield Stark had purchased across the Canadian border, wherever they were going.

Peter was quiet but excited, and more than a little nervous, Bucky could tell.

"Don't worry. This should be routine. Get in, find them, only engage if necessary, get out." He assured him.

"Yeah, okay. I just don't want to let you guys down."

"You won't. If you calm down."

Peter nodded and took a deep breath, and they got off the jet, dressed as civilians since they didn't need to go fighting right away.

They discovered that they had no idea where they were going in this town pretty quickly. The streets seemed to be laid out randomly, with no rhyme or reason, and they quickly realized they needed help.

They found a red-haired girl waiting at a bus stop and got Peter to go ask her for directions.

"Hey, hi, um... My... Uncles... And I, we're lost, we're from out of town, we're trying to get here." Peter showed her the picture of the bar they were using as their headquarters.

"Oh sure, that's easy to get to. You guys have a car?" Peter shook his head. "Alright, what you'll want to do is hop the 80, it'll be about 45 minutes, that'll put you right downtown, get off right before where the Dairy Queen used to be- what's there now, I forget- right, the Eastlink, you see that you ring the bell, get off there, and it's just a straight walk ahead, past that building, it'll be on the right, not too far after. You guys heading in for the fries?"

"What?" Bucky couldn't help himself.

"The fries. They're the best fries in the city, up in the pub." She explained.

"Oh, no, we're going downstairs." He explained in return.

"Oh okay. I've never been down there, looks super creepy, but if you've got time you should really head upstairs. Oh there's the bus." She nodded to the bus that was coming their way.

"Thank you very much ma'am." Steve thanked her.

"No problem, nice meeting you. Have fun." She put her headphones in and got on the bus, and they got on after her and awkwardly sat on the bus for 45 minutes.

Once they got off, they were able to find the bar easily, and went down the stairs.

Things were going well, they had spotted several of the members they had on file, all sitting at tables drinking beer and watching the hockey game on the screens around the bar. Unfortunately, one of them also spotted them.

"That's Captain America!" He yelled, and he and Steve looked at each other with a sigh.

"Here we go."

"Let's get to work."

Steve pulled his shield out of his backpack and shielded the three of them as they tossed their bags aside while guns began blazing.

Bucky got his guns out and proceeded to return fire, while Peter put on his mask and got to work webbing everything in sight.

The fight was fairly short, given that between him and Peter all of the shooters went out of commission one way or another, but there were still two at the door keeping the three of them at bay with heavy fire-

And now there weren't.

A man in flattering red spandex - he didn't think that, stop altering the story - a man in a tight red spandex suit proceeded to promptly knock out both men, sending them to the floor.

They stood next to each other, wary in case this man was a threat.

"Hey, sorry I took so long guys, but I just had to try the fries, and then like twenty drinks. You really should try the fries like the author told you."

They were all appropriately confused.

"Who are you?" Steve asked.

"Pool, comma, Dead. Nice to see you back in action, it's only been, what, 70 years? And you're still a Captain too, someone get this man a promotion."

"Deadpool? Are you like a Canadian superhero or something?" Peter asked.

"Oh hi Peter! I almost didn't see you under that weird little web-patterned Stark suit you've got there."

Peter had his mask on, so the fact that he knew who Peter was put Bucky on edge, since it clearly seemed like Peter had no idea who this Deadpool was.

They were very confused and mildly concerned.

"Are you here to fight us?" Steve asked.

"Nah, don't you worry your blonde little head, I'm just here for these precious little angels." Deadpool walked past them, patting Steve's head as he walked past and kicking one of the unconscious men out of his way.

"You know they're Hydra?" Bucky asked.

"I know they had a jaywalking ring. I don't give a flying cahoot about your little war on the Nazis. Peter, if you would kindly turn around?" Deadpool made a twirling motion with his finger, and with a slow nod from Steve Peter slowly turned to face the door.

Deadpool proceeded to mildly concuss everyone Bucky hadn't shot, with a precision that made him a little jealous and slightly - no, bad Wade, Bucky isn't attracted to your murder spree, let's try that again - with a precision that made him respect the strange man in front of him.

"There we go. Unconsciousified the lot of them." Deadpool sheathed the - how do I censor the katanas? Oh, I know - plastic inflatable anime cats he was wielding.

"You aren't supposed to knock them out in cold blood." Bucky noted, and Deadpool came right up to his face. He didn't back down.

"Two of these buggers are cops, and one of them ran for mayor of this pretentiously underpopulated little city. You think the law is the right way to do this?" Deadpool pushed his arm, but before Bucky could choke him out he moved right on. "Well gee giminy gillikers, you've got a metal arm now! What'd you do, do so many one-armed pushups the muscles turned to metal?"

"Lost my arm to frostbite, then got captured and tortured for years, brainwashed, and nearly killed Steve." He explained shortly.

"Well you've got your boyfriend now. Look at you two, so cute." Deadpool picked up Steve's arm before he knew what was happening and put it around Bucky's shoulders.

Steve took it back and pointed at Deadpool the way he did whenever he was about to start teaching morons their place. "Son, we're going to have to hand you over to the authorities."

"No you won't. The author likes me too much to do that. Besides, she's got her ending all planned, don't you?" - yes I do, so do you have anything else to say? - "Peter, buddy, turn back around?" Deadpool put a hand on Peter's head, and he turned around again.

"What's going on?" Peter was very confused, as were Steve and Bucky.

"Call me. We're besties in the comics, trust me, you want me on your side." Deadpool slipped a piece of paper under the black spider plate on Peter's chest. "You guys should really try the fries. Bye bye Mister Rogers!" He waved to Steve, before proceeding to skip away, singing "it's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood" over and over.

"What just happened?" Bucky asked confusedly.

They took a moment to process , and silence fell for a moment.

"You guys think that pub upstairs would still be open?" Peter asked.

"It might be." Bucky shrugged.

"Want to check it out?"

"Sure." Steve nodded.

They went upstairs, and sure enough the pub was still open. They spotted the red-haired girl there, with a few other people, and she smiled and nodded to them when she saw them walk in, and they nodded back.

There was no sign of any damage from the gunfire down below, and they guessed that there were probably precautions put in place to make sure if anything went down, their base would still be secret.

Steve called the compound to check in, Peter texted his aunt to let her know he was doing well, and Bucky looked over at his phone to see that he also put Deadpool in his phone as a contact when he didn't think they were looking.

They relaxed, got drinks, water for the kid, and ordered some food to try and wind down from whatever had just happened downstairs.

But at least they'd completed their mission, sort of, and everyone was right, the fries were pretty good.

* * *

Did you like it? I hope you liked it.

The explicit chapter will be posted shortly after this, so for those of you who want that don't worry it's on its way.

For those of you who don't, I plan on posting chapters regularly every Saturday from now on.

And I have a very special chapter 50 planned that I hope you'll enjoy.


	44. Chapter 43 - BLOOD AND GUNS

HEY

SO

You know how I said there'd be a language warning?

Yeah

This is it.

This is your warning.

I'm gonna be translating this chapter to a clean version, so you can still read it if you have sensitive eyes, but just so you know, THIS ONE CONTAINS SWEARING. The one you'll want to read if you don't like swearing is Chapter 43 - FLOWERS AND RAINBOWS EDITION, which I am going to post first but write second because it just works out better for everyone that way.

Is this warning long enough yet?

YES IT IS

SHUT UP WADE

MAKE ME

Welp, here we go!

Welp? Really? Fucking really?

I can kill you off in this chapter, don't you test me

You won't, you want the movie

Killing you in this fic doesn't affect the movie

It affects your conscience

Bitch what conscience?

Aw, did you violently decapitate your little cricket?

You can't make Disney references, you're Fox

Fuck you

Fuck you too, can I get to the chapter now?

Yes.

Thank you.

* * *

Angela decided that once Bucky got back she and Vicky were going to go home, and she would get back to work, so they could try to regain some sense of normalcy. He left the small animal to guard them while he was gone, and he asked everyone he saw to keep an eye on things, including a random SHIELD agent he'd found Vicky clinging to the legs of while he walked through the hall.

They went up to the roof at 6 in the morning to fly out, and landed in a small airfield Stark had purchased across the Canadian border, wherever they were going.

Peter was quiet but excited, and more than a little nervous, Bucky could tell.

"Don't worry. This should be routine. Get in, find them, only engage if necessary, get out." He assured him.

"Yeah, okay. I just don't want to let you guys down."

"You won't. If you calm down."

Peter nodded and took a deep breath, and they got off the jet, dressed as civilians since they didn't need to go fighting right away.

They discovered that they had no idea where they were going in this town pretty quickly. The streets seemed to be laid out randomly, with no rhyme or reason, and they quickly realized they needed help.

They found a red-haired girl waiting at a bus stop and got Peter to go ask her for directions.

"Hey, hi, um... My... Uncles... And I, we're lost, we're from out of town, we're trying to get here." Peter showed her the picture of the bar they were using as their headquarters.

"Oh sure, that's easy to get to. You guys have a car?" Peter shook his head. "Alright, what you'll want to do is hop the 80, it'll be about 45 minutes, that'll put you right downtown, get off right before where the Dairy Queen used to be- what's there now, I forget- right, the Eastlink, you see that you ring the bell, get off there, and it's just a straight walk ahead, past that building, it'll be on the right, not too far after. You guys heading in for the fries?"

"What?" Bucky couldn't help himself.

"The fries. They're the best fries in the city, up in the pub." She explained.

"Oh, no, we're going downstairs." He explained in return.

"Oh okay. I've never been down there, looks super creepy, but if you've got time you should really head upstairs. Oh there's the bus." She nodded to the bus that was coming their way.

"Thank you very much ma'am." Steve thanked her.

"No problem, nice meeting you. Have fun." She put her headphones in and got on the bus, and they got on after her and awkwardly sat on the bus for 45 minutes.

Once they got off, they were able to find the bar easily, and went down the stairs.

Things were going well, they had spotted several of the members they had on file, all sitting at tables drinking beer and watching the hockey game on the screens around the bar. Unfortunately, one of them also spotted them.

"That's Captain America!" He yelled, and he and Steve looked at each other with a sigh.

"Here we go."

"Let's get to work."

Steve pulled his shield out of his backpack and shielded the three of them as they tossed their bags aside while guns began blazing.

Bucky got his guns out and proceeded to return fire, while Peter put on his mask and got to work webbing everything in sight.

The fight was fairly short, given that between him and Peter all of the shooters went out of commission one way or another, but there were still two at the door keeping the three of them at bay with heavy fire-

And now there weren't.

A man in sexy red spandex - he didn't think that, stop altering the story - a man in a tight red spandex suit proceeded to promptly decapitate both men, sending them to the floor with blood spurting everywhere.

They stood next to each other, wary in case this man was a threat.

"Hey, sorry I took so long guys, but I just had to try the fries, and then I had to take a leak and boy, when your dick is as long as mine that's gonna take a while."

They were all appropriately confused.

"Who are you?" Steve asked.

"Pool, comma, Dead. Nice to see you back in action, it's only been, what, 70 years? And you're still a virgin too, someone get this man a hooker."

"Deadpool? Are you like a Canadian superhero or something?" Peter asked.

"Oh hi Peter! I almost didn't see you under that tight-ass suit you've got there. You legal in this one?"

Peter had his mask on, so the fact that he knew who Peter was put Bucky on edge, since it clearly seemed like Peter had no idea who this Deadpool was.

"Legal?" Peter was confused.

"Yeah, can I fuck you?" Deadpool clarified.

"Um, no."

"Damn it, why couldn't you write me a college-age Spider-Man?!" Deadpool yelled at someone off-screen.

They were very confused and mildly concerned.

"Are you here to fight us?" Steve asked.

"Nah, don't you worry your blonde little head, I'm just here for these fuckers." Deadpool walked past them, patting Steve's head as he walked past and kicking one of the decapitated heads under a table.

"You know they're Hydra?" Bucky asked.

"I know they had a human trafficking ring. I don't give a shit about your little war on the Nazis. Peter, if you would kindly turn around?" Deadpool made a twirling motion with his finger, and with a slow nod from Steve Peter slowly turned to face the door.

Deadpool proceeded to kill everyone Bucky hadn't shot, with a precision that made him a little jealous and slightly aroused - no, bad Wade, Bucky isn't getting turned on by your murder spree, let's try that again - with a precision that made him respect the strange man in front of him.

"There we go. Murderized the lot of them." Deadpool sheathed the swords he was wielding.

"You aren't supposed to kill them in cold blood." Bucky noted, and Deadpool came right up to his face. He didn't back down.

"Two of these motherfuckers are cops, and one of them ran for mayor of this piece of shit city. You think the law is the right way to do this?" Deadpool pushed his arm, but before Bucky could choke him out he moved right on. "Holy shit, you've got a metal arm now! What'd you do, jack off so hard the muscles turned to metal?"

"Lost my arm to frostbite, then got captured and tortured for years, brainwashed, and nearly killed Steve." He explained shortly.

"Well you've got your boyfriend now. Look at you two, so cute." Deadpool picked up Steve's arm before he knew what was happening and put it around Bucky's shoulders.

Steve took it back and pointed at Deadpool the way he did whenever he was about to start teaching dumbasses their place. "Son, we're going to have to hand you over to the authorities."

"No you won't. The author likes me too damn much to do that. Besides, she's got her ending all planned, don't you?" - yes I do, so do you have anything else to say? - "Peter, buddy, turn back around?" Deadpool put a hand on Peter's head, and he turned around again.

"What's going on?" Peter was very confused, as were Steve and Bucky.

"Call me. We're besties in the comics, trust me, you want me on your side." Deadpool slipped a piece of paper under the black spider plate on Peter's chest. "You guys should really try the fries. Bye bye Mister Rogers!" He waved to Steve, before proceeding to skip away, singing "it's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood" over and over.

"What the fuck just happened?" Bucky asked confusedly.

"Bucky." Steve had that tone.

"Steve, it's not 1945, I can swear on the battlefield now."

They took a moment to process what had happened, and silence fell for a moment.

"You guys think that pub upstairs would still be open?" Peter asked.

"It might be." Bucky shrugged.

"Want to check it out?"

"Sure." Steve nodded.

They went upstairs, and sure enough the pub was still open. They spotted the red-haired girl there, with a few other people, and she smiled and nodded to them when she saw them walk in, and they nodded back.

There was no sign of any damage from the gunfire down below, and they guessed that there were probably precautions put in place to make sure if anything went down, their base would still be secret.

Steve called the compound to check in, Peter texted his aunt to let her know he was doing well, and Bucky looked over at his phone to see that he also put Deadpool in his phone as a contact when he didn't think they were looking.

They relaxed, got drinks, water for the kid, and ordered some food to try and wind down from whatever the fuck just happened downstairs.

But at least they'd completed their mission, sort of, and everyone was right, the fries were pretty good.

* * *

And that was the explicit cut.

Hope you enjoyed!

As always please review, I love hearing what you guys have to say, and I'll see you here every Saturday up to and including chapter 50


	45. Chapter 44

I knew this would happen. I wrote myself into a corner, and I stalled, and now it's like a month later and I'm only just giving you guys the next chapter. I am a horrible person and a liar. I'm sorry guys. You deserve better.

* * *

When they got back, true to her word, Angela wanted to move back to her apartment. Everyone at the compound thought this was a bad idea, but Vicky put her foot down and most of them relented.

They spent two days making sure her apartment was well-equipped to handle any threats that might come their way. They moved them back into the apartment on the third day, and Bucky spent most of that week at the apartment, heading over as soon as he had finished his training in the mornings, and when Angela went back to work he stayed over nights to watch Vicky.

Angela walked in from work one morning around four. Bucky was up, sitting on the couch with the small animal curled up asleep on his lap.

"Bucky, haven't you slept?" She said with a soft groan.

"I slept a little. I don't need that much sleep anymore." He shrugged.

She let it slide. "Fine, okay. How was Vicky?"

"She kicked a hole in the wall. Don't worry, it's only small, I put her dresser in front of it to hide it."

"Dang it." She sighed. "Alright, I'll get it fixed in the morning."

"I can call Stark, he's rich, he can fix it." Bucky shrugged.

"No, I'll get it, it's fine. God I'm tired." She ran a hand through her hair.

"Go to bed then. I'll keep an eye on the apartment." Bucky ordered her.

"Yessir uncle Buck." She didn't argue, and went in to collapse in her bedroom, and he shut her door for her so she wouldn't be bothered when Vicky woke up.

The small animal woke up first, and he rubbed its back as it yawned.

"Good morning. Sleep well small dog?"

It barked in reply, and he smiled a little.

"Glad to hear it. I'm guessing you're hungry?"

It jumped down off of his lap and ran in a small circle before walking out to the kitchen, and he followed it and started making breakfast.

Vicky came out and latched on to his leg while he cooked, and he regularly dropped pieces of bacon to her and the small animal.

He spent some time trying to train Vicky to be a sniper with the gun Clint and Natasha had given her, but she was so easily distracted the process got frustrating fast and he gave up and let her choose what to do. The star on her leg had started flaking off, so she repainted it with blue glitter paint this time before declaring that now she was Bucky, and Bucky was a Hydra army, and proceeded to try and run around the apartment and shoot him. He dodged enough to challenge her, but he knew by now that she would get tired of not winning very quickly and let her hit him every now and then, to keep her esteem up.

Angela was still asleep around lunch, though he suspected not for much longer, so he went out to make lunch on the condition that Vicky stayed in sight.

She immediately hid under the couch with a giggle of spite, and he rolled his eyes and let her be.

He heard the door open, and reached for his gun quickly, moving behind the wall to stay out of the line of fire, and looked through the door for Vicky and the small animal.

They were nowhere to be seen at first, until Vicky jumped up on to the couch.

"Die intruder! Die!" She started shooting at the intruder, but quickly ran out of bullets, and decided it was a smart idea to lunge at the intruder instead.

He jumped out with his gun up, to see-

Thor.

He had picked up Vicky by the collar of her shirt. She was still yelling die at him, and had decided to just him really hard in the arm with her gun now that she was out of ammo. The small animal meanwhile had walked up to him calmly and was looking up at Thor and panting happily.

"Friend Barnes, have you shrunk?" Thor asked Vicky.

She just kept yelling die and hitting him, and Bucky put his gun away with a mildly amused smile and sigh. "Over here Thor."

Thor looked over at him and smiled. "Good day to you! Who is this phenomenal warrior I hold?" He held up Vicky.

"My niece. Vicky, this is Thor, Thor, this is Vicky, you'd probably call her Victoria. That "phenomenal warrior" needs to learn how to reload her gun before just diving at the enemy." He scolded Vicky.

"Big hammer man?" Vicky looked up at Thor.

"Yes, I do have a very large hammer." Thor nodded.

"Can you put me down?"

"Certainly my lady Victoria." Thor set her on the ground, and she proceeded to flail in what he guessed was supposed to be dancing.

"Vicky?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah uncle Bucky?"

"What are you doing?"

"It's hammer time!" She beamed.

"Well hammer time is going to happen in momma's room while you explain to her what's going on. Uncle Bucky has to talk to big hammer man." He picked Vicky up and took her to Angela's room, where Angela was already sitting up.

"Bucky, what's going on? I thought I heard shouting." She asked tiredly.

"Thor is here, Vicky decided to attack him. Everything is fine." He set Vicky down and went back out to talk to Thor.

"Why are you in my niece's apartment?"

"I seek information. Have you heard from Loki since he was here last?" Thor asked him.

"No, and thank god for that. Why?"

"He has gone missing from the vaults of Asgard again."

"Who's gone missing?" Angela asked, coming out of her room wrapped in a sweater.

"My brother, Loki. Who might you be fair maiden?" Thor bowed politely to her.

"Angela, Bucky's niece. Are we safe? Planetarily? Last time he was here, he tried to invade us." She was worried.

The small animal barked at her and sat at her side.

"Last time Loki was here, he turned the small dog into a child. Before that was the time he tried to invade. But her question still stands." Bucky turned to Thor. "Are we safe?"

He nodded. "As far as I know, you are. I will inform you if things change."

"Thanks. Why'd you come to me?"

"I thought perhaps my brother had shown interest in you, and he may have come to resume his mischief." Thor explained. "I seem to be mistaken. My apologies for intruding on your home Angela Barnes." He bowed to Angela.

"Angela Cole actually, but it's fine. Just call ahead next time you want to walk in on a trigger-happy super soldier guarding a kid." Angela suggested.

"Of course. My apologies again, if I startled you."

"Nah, don't worry about it. Now I can tell everyone at work I've met Thor." She shrugged.

Vicky ran out and jumped at him again, attaching to his cape. "Hi!"

Thor smiled a bit. "Hello again Victoria."

"Vicky!" She pouted, slowly sliding down his cape.

"Don't call her Victoria, she hates that." Angela explained.

"My apologies, Vicky." He picked her up before she could reach the ground, and she smiled brightly at him. "How long have you been training as a warrior?"

"Only a couple months. Arrow man and uncle Bucky's girlfriend gave me my gun because I was sad I lost my leg, and uncle Bucky's been teaching me how to use a knife in secret, but I can't tell momma cause she won't like it." Vicky babbled.

Angela looked to Bucky. "Oh really?"

Bucky held up his hands to assure her he wanted no fight. "She's only trained with a plastic knife."

"We'll talk about this later." She promised him, and he made a note to call Natasha, who had supplied him with the child friendly knife when she'd seen him passing Vicky a normal one. "Thor, would you like to stay for lunch?" She offered.

"Thank you, but I must depart, finding my brother is of key importance. Perhaps another day."

"Just let me know when you're in town." Angela nodded.

"Bye bye hammer time man." Vicky waved from Thor's arms, and he set her down. She proceeded to go flail off to her room, and the small animal bounded after her with a happy bark.

"It was nice meeting you Thor." Angela smiled at him as she showed him to the door.

"You as well Angela Cole." He bowed. "Fare well Barnes!" He called to Bucky.

"Yeah you too!" He called back, and Thor left.

Angela proceeded to fix him with a look he would've taken as a threat on his life from anyone else.

He wasn't allowed to train Vicky how to knife fight anymore. The gun was allowed to stay, only because Vicky slept with it under her pillow and would throw a fit if it was taken from her.

He was very proud.

* * *

And that's that. Deadline for requests is whatever time I post the next chapter, after that I'm not gonna take any more, I need to get to chapter 50 on schedule. But feel free to drop me requests after this one, I do have some spare chapters in there that could use inspiration, and as always, feel free to leave me reviews and let me know what you thought

For now, thank you guys so much for reading this chapter, if you liked it punch that favourite button in the face, like a boss, and high fives all around. Thank you guys, and I will see all you dudes in the next chapter!


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